The Qínglǚ Tournament
by TheyTookMyUsername
Summary: Previously: A mate for the Dragon Warrior. When Ping and Li speak to Shifu about giving Po a mate, everything changes. Now all of China's finest female warriors gather around to fight for the hand of the one and only, Dragon Warrior. Rating may change. Bad summary? Yes, I know.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a little something to test waters. Masternica did a similar concept focusing more on sexy and all that stuff, but i ain't here for that unlessis monster hunter related. I really liked the concept so...imma use it, YES. I asked for his permission and with green lights what's the other thing i can do but WRITE WRITE WRITE. So this is the first chapter and i'm hoping unlike my other one that i told myself was gonna be smol but now is nearly 30 chapters. This one will remain smol...thinking less than 20 to keep it fair for me and the other fanfic. Anyway...enjoy ^-^**

Being a normal day at the Jade Palace, Shifu didn't expect much. The panda was giving the five their daily training lesson, so he had time to focus on his chi technique. Given Po's advice he had considerably grown more used to controlling and manipulating his chi, however he knew he still had a long way to go for him to master it. Inhaling, he focused on his inner energy. Exhaling, he focused his energy to his palm willing it to do his bidding. Nothing fancy at the moment, just a little…

"Master Shifu?" a voice broke his concentration, making his chi falter and disappear.

The red panda sighed and straighten, "Yes."

A gray goose wearing a red vest and noodle hat waddled into the yard of the Jade Palace. His wings fiddled with one and the other in an uncertain way. Behind him another person entered. A giant Panda with a green vest and pants pulled with a brown belt at his waist. He, like Mr. Ping, looked nervous an uncertain, certainly something to be scared off thought Shifu.

"How may I help you this afternoon Mr. Ping?" asked politely Shifu.

Ping turned to Li then sighed as he turned to Shifu, "Well you see…"

"We've been wondering…" continued the giant panda.

"If maybe…" added Ping.

"It would be possible for…" said Li as Shifu watched each as they spoke.

"For Po/Little Lotus," said both fathers at the same time. "To get a mate."

Shifu stared at both of the parental figures of the dragon warrior as they looked in the act of stealing. Shifu blinked at their words unsure of what to say, their words dancing through his head as the words kept ringing in his ears.

"I do not see the problem of Po finding a mate," said Shifu. "But as a kung fu master…they are certain things he needs to go through."

"What are they?" both fathers said at the same time.

"Um…well Po needs someone strong," started Shifu. "Since he is the dragon warrior and all. She would also need to fill certain criteria to be even considered to be Po's mate. Why do you ask? Do you have someone in mind?"

Ping and Li looked at each other before turning to Shifu, "We really don't but…"

"Since I found Po I've had the notion he would find a mate and you know settle," said Li. "Never would have thought he was going to be one of China's most powerful kung fu masters."

"Also we want grandchildren," said Ping bluntly.

Li smacked his head with his paw, "You weren't supposed to say that yet."

"What?" said Ping. "Po isn't getting any younger. And he certainly won't focus on finding a mate."

Li sighed, "But we agreed on taking things slow."

"Yeah well I ain't known for my patience," said Ping crossing his wings.

Shifu chuckled, "I see, well I can do something for you. I will check the palace scrolls to see if there is something then, using the knowledge left that managed to survive Kai I'm pretty sure we can come up with a suitable solution for this… problem."

Ping and Li perked up to this and thanked Shifu so many times that the red panda didn't know how to respond. However as soon as the thanks were gone, so were the father figures of the dragon warrior. Shifu chuckled and walked into the reconstructed Jade Palace to look for the answers to the men's wish.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

It was later that day that the red panda's presence was felt once more in the Jade Palace. Without hesitation Shifu made his way through the confusing halls until he reached the kitchen area. There the furious five dinned alongside the dragon warrior. He currently was stirring up his noodle soup while he spoke to them. They laughed at his words but Shifu just strolled in and took his seat, waiting for his meal.

"So master Shifu," said the dragon warrior. "I was wondering if we could give the five a day off or so? You know so they could get in touch with themselves better and all that."

Shifu did not reply, instead he continued to stare at the table. Po served him and silence fell on the dining room as the furious five, the dragon warrior and his former master dined.

"I think you should do whatever you think is right," said Shifu once his meal was done.

"Really? Well you don't seem quite enthusiastic about it," said the dragon warrior as he got another handful of soup.

"I've just…been thinking," said Shifu closing his eyes.

"About what master?" asked Tigress.

As silence dragged on Shifu opened his eyes and stared at his students all looking at him expectant. The red panda sighed as he was forced to explain to them his recent finds.

"This afternoon i had a visit from Po's fathers," he started.

Po frowned and sat down, "My dads were here?"

Shifu nodded, "They spoke to me about an issue they felt, needed to be touched with much haste, so I promised I would spare some time and look a viable solution. However I did not see how complex this entire endeavor would be."

"What's wrong master?" asked Viper.

"Wait what was this thing my dads needed to be cleared about?" asked Po.

Shifu turned to his students and placed his intertwined paws under his chin, "Marriage."

The silence that followed ran deep and lingered for what felt like ages.

"Wait, Po's dads want to get married?" asked Mantis.

"Well that's nice," said Viper. "But I didn't think they would have that kind of relationship. They never hinted it."

"Congratulations Po," said Monkey.

Shifu rolled his eyes as the five drove on into theories, but didn't interrupt until they calmed enough that the news wouldn't be that much of a shock…he hoped.

"The wedding isn't for Mr. Ping and Li," he said. "It's for Po."

Silence fell even heavier than before. Actually at the moment the room felt quite cold all of the sudden. Shifu wondered if he had made the right choice.

"What!" the panda yelled rising from his chair. "You can't be serious?"

Shifu nodded, "Your fathers only wish the best for you Po, and they don't want o see you alone…also they said they wanted grandchildren."

Po grunted, "Aw come on. First dad and now…my dad…that doesn't sound right."

"Po," interrupted Shifu. "I don't think we'll have to worry about this for long."

Po and the five turned to master Shifu, "Wha'cha mean?"

Shifu leaned back on his chair, arms crossed, "You see since you're the dragon warrior you need a potential mate that is strong as you, also she needs to be prepared for all the responsibilities of being the dragon warrior's mate."

"Why you look at me like that?" asked Po turning to the five, who suddenly found the walls of the kitchen much more fascinating. "I'm not that hard to deal with."

The boys had a coughing fit at the dragon warrior's statement while Viper and Tigress held much interest in their unfinished meal.

"I'm not talking about handling you," said Shifu with a glare. "Though I implied it." he mumbled making Po roll his eyes, "No I'm talking about the Jade Palace and everything that comes with it. As dragon warrior and Oogway's heir there is much more responsibility than just strength, handling the artifacts, getting to know the people from the village, handling bandits and all, it's hard work. You've only experience a glimpse of the responsibility, but I take care of all the paper work. If you got a bride then she would have to handle these and that requires patience and perseverance."

"Things Po lack to this day," said Monkey to Mantis.

"I heard that," said the dragon warrior.

"So Po won't get a bride?" asked Viper.

Shifu looked down and fiddled with his fingers, "There is a way…to find a proper mate for Po."

The five turned to listen to their master, "But I suspect I should tell your fathers about this, more than I do you."

"Come on master Shifu," said Po. "They are basically deciding my things for me, what if I don't want this."

"Exactly my point," said Shifu sitting straighter. "Talk to your dad's about this. Give them your point of view and then, after we reach a certain conclusion, we'll agree on what is the best option."

Po nodded and rushed out of the kitchen to head to his home. Shifu sighed and stood also leaving the five to handle the news as they pleased.

"A bride for Po," said Monkey. "How would that be?"

"Bet she will be one big lady," chuckle Mantis.

"Stop it we don't even know if Po wants this," said Viper. "And for the looks of it he doesn't."

"But what can he do," said Crane. "Being the dragon warrior is enough as it is. Getting a bride might just take up all of his time."

"You're implying he'll forget us?" said Monkey.

"I'm saying, Po is not the best at handling time," added Crane with an eye roll.

"But he's grown so much in such a short time as a master," interrupted Tigress staring at her empty plate. "Perhaps it would be better to not reach any conclusions until after Po has made his decision and we get clarification of these facts."

The five nodded in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to the second chapter of...whatever this is turning out to be. I FINALLY CAME UP WITH A TITLE YAY! Now let's get down to business so please lend me an ear.**

 **I did not expect to get as many reviews and follows in one day. Seriously i go to sleep and wake up check my email and BOOM flood of favs and reviews and my midterm rules...yeah that last one wasn't funny or happy. I also got a PM from Masternica~sama (idk why i call him that) MASTERNICA i hope i make ya proud *-* now on to more important things like the story.**

 **I'm having a fit, looking for characters for this tournament. The show (which i've seen and like to pretend it doesn't exist) came in handy adding several obvious contestants to the story such as a fan fav Song (ladies of the shade) and Lu-Shi (po bride or something is called the episode), other more obvious entry was Tigress whom my friends and several reviewers pointed out on. As for my extensive list i ended up coming up with an abrupt halt when i noticed some of the other options were just a BIG nope to me. The contest is not that big of a deal now -since the next chapter wont feature it either- but you'd be glad to know i'm working on that. Another point is that this story might be flooded (and by flooded i mean the exact number of contestants that i will not mention to keep it a surprise) with OC contestants as pointed out in my extensive hour meeting with my best friends one who loves KFP and the other who just liked the concept and told me he would led a helping hand (If you read The hunter and the Pink he is the creator of that...idk how to call it) anyway Superxwolf has his hands mixed in this thing also. i've also gotten help from my reviewers which is GREATLY appreciated ;)**

 **for those who asked, NO i don't know who the winner is going to be. if you're expecting TiPo well here's the catch. Ever seen Total drama Island? No, well is a cartoon reality tv show. Simple enough right, the fights will be chosen by me and you guys decide the winner...however IF you HAVE seen TDI you might remember Chris the host. No? well he's an a****** yeah that's the proper word, and i love him cos of it. now you guys vote...i put the rules *evil laugh* like in a fight with Mei Mei and Viper you guys review who you want to win and that'll happen...or i might add a twist, Like Chris does on the show. or at least that's the plan for now. As for the TiPo if you think is going to be easy...*evil smirk***

 **i'll make sure this decision, is the worst decision you'll ever get to make.**

 **Each contestant will have a time to get developed enough for you guys to choose the best option for Po. (papa Ping and Li are counting on you to choose the best bride for Po)**

 **Updates will be every two weeks (it'll give me time to count votes and come up with a decent story that fits) maybe earlier if the chapter only has character dev or something essential for the plot to carry on and make your decision even chapter aside formt he authors note will have a minimum of 2000 words or near 2000 words, the number will be exceeded if necessary but the number will always be extremely close to 2000 or exceed it.  
**

 **wow that went on for longer than expected... actually no i expected this to be a long authors note considering all i had to clear up for the story...also if you have any idea of a character in the cartoon that you think should be in go ahead and let me know that way i won't have that many OC's. i guess that's all i hope you enjoy this chapter and i hope that i kept you know the characters in character and all that, i tried my best.**

 **You are free to eat.**

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

It didn't take Po long to reach his father's restaurant. On his way he was greeted and congratulated by the people from the village. Po didn't hesitate to greet them back, however his main goal continued to play in his mind. When he reached it, he was fatigued from his run, but that didn't stop the dragon warrior as he walked into the restaurant.

"Dads," he said taking deep breaths.

"Yes," both of his dads answered in unison.

Taking a final calming breath, Po took his dads and walked them into the kitchen of the establishment. Both of them looked at each other confused as they were dragged, but none of them felt the need to interrupt the young warrior.

Once inside the kitchen Po closed the door and turned to them, "Marriage? Really?"

His fathers turned to each other before once more turning to him.

"Shifu told you?" asked Ping adjusting his red vest.

"Yes," said Po. "Did you even think about what I wanted? Or even if I wanted this."

"We just, did what we thought was best for you son," said Li gesturing at Po.

"Yeah, but that's not everything dad," Po complained. "You didn't ask me if I wanted this."

"We thought it was a good idea," said Ping.

"Good idea for who?" said Po. "I'm the dragon warrior, I like what I do."

"A family, will make your job worthier," said Li.

"But I don't want a mate," said Po. "I'm just getting used to teaching, and now Shifu tells me you guys talked to him about getting married."

"Po, you have to understand. We thought it was the best option right now," said Li.

"Besides you aren't getting any younger," said Ping.

Po groaned, "But that's not the point. I have duties, responsibilities, what time will I have to handle these extra things."

Both of his fathers turned to each other, "You have to understand son we just thought…"

"Well you didn't think it through huh?" said Po crossing his arms trying to look intimidating but failing as the ceiling only allowed so much of him inside the structure.

Li sighed, "We can explain lil' Lotus."

"Oh yeah well, come on explain," said Po tapping his foot, impatient to receive an answer.

Ping turned to the counter and spoke to the people outside, "Everyone, we're closed for the day."

Grunts and groans were heard from the other side and Po blinked on his father's unusual behavior. Usually the goose would never close store unless entirely necessary or a critical subject came up. Li walked pass Po and started leading people outside. Po watched as he did and Ping brought out a paper wall to place on the entrance signaling the restaurant official closure. Po's arms fell as he stared, was this really happening?

Li and Ping walked to the center table and gestured Po to take a seat across from them. Po obeyed with certain reluctance, but finally sat down to face his fathers.

"Po, we have been thinking," started Ping. "After your fight with Kai."

"And since Ping told me about your previous encounters with Shen and Tai Lung," added Li.

"We thought it was better to…" said Ping. "To…"

"If you found a partner to share your life with," added Li.

"We know you have dragon warrior stuff and we understand that," said Ping. "You came back after Shen, just like you promised. And for that I am grateful, however…"

"We think it might be better to find you a mate soon," said Li placing his elbows on the table, fingers crossed under his chin. "A family always pushes us forward to do even greater things. I still remember how Shen took my family away, I just…I would like to see you have your own."

"What if in one of those fights we lose you Po," said Ping looking down and sniffing. "We don't want to know our son is gone and didn't get to fully live his life."

Po looked at his paws and sighed, "But…But dad." he told Ping, "You never had another in your life, and you were happy."

"But I had you Po," said Ping stretching his wing towards the panda. "You were always there for me, now it's time I am there for you."

Po shook his head a little, "I understand I really do, but I don't know…I have already so much on my plate."

"We aren't forcing you Lotus," said Li. He shrugged, "Not everything goes according to plan, but we really think this is a good idea. You'd get to have cubs and a caring wife. It's a joy that I cannot describe Lotus."

Ping nodded, "I can't describe it either, I may not have a wife, but I had you and those years I would never trade them. Not even for a bigger restaurant."

Po chuckled a little at his father's statement, but continued to watch both men. They seemed so filled with determination to get their point through. Po knew his job is dangerous but he was the dragon warrior, he could do it. He had to. Constantly. The five had done it for years, what did they think?

"I…I understand I really do," he told them. "But I'm not sure about… if I want to do this."

Ping and Li looked at each other and nodded. "We didn't think you would," Said Ping to Po's surprise.

"We talked to Shifu for an option," said Li reaching for his son's paw. "Your mother was the most beautiful, most amazing woman I've ever met. We didn't want to close the options to you Po."

"We wanted to have viable options," said Ping. "It makes sense that as your fathers, we want to see you happy."

Li patted Po's paw, "Think about it okay, debated whether this is a good thing for you or not. Instead of telling us your reply, tell Shifu."

Po's eyes wondered from his dad to his other dad and back. The look on their faces made a knot form on his throat that he had to swallow constantly. They wanted the best for him, but he also wanted to be the dragon warrior. He could keep it, but other duties would add to him.

Po looked down, he needed time, time to think, time to debate his options and if this was a good idea. Moving his paw slowly, he stood and bowed to his fathers. He then rushed out of the restaurant, into the streets and up the thousand steps. Ping and Li looked as the panda ran up the stairs.

"I hope he doesn't get fatigued," said Ping.

"Think we did the right thing?" asked Li.

"Of course we did," said Ping turning to his shop. "Po will come around." He said staring at the painting of him and Po side by side when Po was a cub.

"I missed all that," said Li. "I just want to see him happy."

"I know," said Ping taking the picture and touching the surface with his wing. "You'll see, Po will make the right decision." Ping placed the picture back and turned to Li. "Soup?" he asked the giant panda.

Li stomach rumbled and they both chuckled, "How about we also play mahjong?"

Ping chuckled, "But of course."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po stayed the rest of the night under the shadow of the peach tree. His hours of concentration, thinking about the marriage thing, ended in a pile of discarded peach centers and an aggravated dragon warrior. He understood, he really did. His fathers wished him the best they could and wanted him to be happy. But Po still focused on the path of the dragon warrior.

He couldn't focus on a family. He didn't even know how to hold an egg; how was he supposed to tend for his? How was even supposed to make it? Sure, he was good with kids, but the time spent with them was always determined by their parents. He'd never truly cared for one for days none stop. Love was a thing he was willing to give, but care and responsibility also came attached with a child. He couldn't fail it like that.

His gaze turned to the Jade Palace where most of his responsibilities lay. The five were probably asleep by now and tomorrow was their day off which meant he could think for longer. Sighing, Po knew that wasn't going to be enough time. He had too many questions and no one to properly answer them, his fathers where the ones that got him to think about this, none of the five had the kind of expertise in the field, and Shifu…he was a kung fu master, who was looking for the information about this potential mate. The only other person Po could think of was Oogway, but then he could already picture the old turtle in his mind doing all that mystical act that left you with more questions than answers.

 _Trust yourself_ or _believe in your decision_ or something confusing like that. Po sighed. How could he think when he was so clustered? He groaned and grunted and filled his mouth with peaches constantly.

"Po?" someone said to the panda.

Swallowing quickly to not be found out, he turned to meet eyes with his former master.

"Master Shifu," said the panda getting on his feet and bowing to the smaller red panda.

"I thought you were asleep by now," said Shifu.

Po chuckled, "I was…actually going to do that. Right now. Bye."

"No, you weren't," said Shifu intercepting Po and bringing him back forward, as the giant panda tried to make his escape.

Po sighed, "Is just…my dads. I know what they're trying to do but…I don't know if I should just go with it or not."

The red panda walked towards Po and took a peach, "Some things we have to allow life take them."

Po groaned, "Now you're acting like Oogway, at least in my mind it made more sense."

Shifu chuckled, "Do you think I was ready to become a father?"

Po frowned at the red panda as he continued to explain, "When Tai Lung arrived at the palace I brought him in, and took care of him like my son. I never viewed him as anything else. Even when I knew he was taking the wrong path, even when I knew I was training him to the bone, I always cared for him and felt proud to be called his father."

Po sat and crossed his legs as he listened to his master's story.

"The moment I had to fight him…was the worst moment of my life. It broke my heart so much, that I failed to deliver justice. Oogway took that, and even after Tai Lung was taken away. I felt proud of all he had ever accomplished. Thousands of other feelings came with it, however I cannot explain them for it was such happiness that I think is normally unattainable. The only partner I ever had betrayed me also, but sometimes I wondered…how it would we be, if things had been different. If I had her by my side and we raised Tai Lung together."

Shifu chuckled, "Is wishful thinking of course, however just the thought of it can get one soul to soar higher that the tallest mountain. I'm not telling you this so you say yes; I'm telling you that the decision is yours. The words of another are sometimes the things we need the most to clear our minds."

"What if I make the wrong the decision with this?" said the dragon warrior.

Shifu took a bite from the peach and chewed loudly, "Well…I'm just telling you my experience. You should rest; perhaps then the answer will become clear."

Po watched the silhouette of his former master disappear under the stairs. But that had been hours ago. Now Po watched as the sunrise bathed the Valley of Peace. The Jade Palace's shadow cloaked the entire valley and peach petals dance through the early wind and into the horizon. Po stood and turned, his mind confused, but oddly calm as he made his way to the Palace.

At the entrance he found his former master. Shifu watched as Po reached the middle of the training ground and bowed to him. Not a word was said, however no words needed to be spelled. This was Po's decision and the red panda would not pressure it. He knew Po considered all the possible outcomes through the night without sleeping. When the giant panda stood once more, he simply exhaled and spoke.

"Let's do this."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **does it annoy anyone that Li and Ping talk in turns? i don't know why they talk like that xD but every time i re-read this is funny.**


	3. Chapter 3

A week flew by without much happening in the Valley of Peace. Actually to many, it was a surprise that the Valley was as peaceful as it was. Usually one could see Po wondering around the village and helping the citizens. However the giant panda that cared for them day and night and barely stayed still for a second was nowhere to be seen.

Speculations run rampart the first evening of the panda's 'disappearance'. Some said the panda had left China to train with other masters and become an even greater force of kung fu, others spoke on how he moved to the panda village and abandoned the Valley for good, that the panda had received a universe message and traveled to another dimension to fight evil. Shifu had sent the five to the village and calm any other speculation from running around. The red panda had barely been able to contain a groan when his messenger arrived that morning with the news of the rumors.

Three days after that, Ping and Li closed shop. It was an oddity to ever see Ping's Noodles closed, so murmurs ran through the village once more. Shifu had to go down to the village and personally explain, how all their questions would be answered once all the answers were found. That the fact that they could see the dragon warrior didn't mean that he had abandoned them, but he was in a moment of spiritual guidance for himself. The village calmed, and considering the five still did their normal rounds to look for food or shop or simply to distract themselves, served as a medium to settle the could be frantic crowds and gossipers.

Inside the Jade Palace, atop of the thousands steps, a panda sighed and lowered yet another scroll. It was tedious if he was sincere. After their week, they had yet to find anything that gave an indication on how could Po get a wife. Shifu appeared from under several scrolls, he also hadn't found anything yet, but his duties as the Jade Palace master kept him from doing as much work as the panda.

"Time for lunch," said Mr. Ping walking into what remained of the old library.

"Not now dad," said Po throwing his head back to stare at his father, even if it was upside down.

"I guess you haven't found anything," said Ping lowering his smile.

"Not yet Mr. Ping," replied Shifu. "But we are working on it. Perhaps we should…look in another section?"

Po groaned moving his head to meet his former master, "What section? Kai blew half of this place. This is all that's left."

Shifu sighed, "I know, but there must be something around here."

Po grunted, "There's nothing here. Why was I so concerned about getting a wife anyway? Kai must have destroyed everything that allowed me to have one."

"Now Po, we salvaged tons of knowledge. I'm pretty sure there has to be something here," said Shifu.

The panda stared at Shifu, his expression questioning the older red panda if he was sure about his words.

"Maybe," was Shifu's reply.

"You're just thinking too much," said Mr. Ping, waddling towards his son. "Take a moment and have lunch. The sun is out today and it's wonderful."

Po watched as his father wiped the desk -the panda was sitting in front of- clean and placed a bowl with noodles. Then he walked over to a window and opened it slightly so some sun could enter.

"You can't think with an empty stomach," said Ping patting his son's large belly. "I'll be back with your bowl Shifu."

Ping walked out of the room leaving both the pandas in the small library. Po turned to his noodle bowl but he pushed it towards Shifu, who pushed it back to the giant panda.

"Po, your father's right," his former master said. "You'll need all your energy to focus on this task."

Po pulled the bowl towards him and took the spoon at the edge of the bowl. He swirled the contents before taking the first bite.

"Shifu," said Po in a low voice. "Do you think…we can actually find something here?"

The red panda watched Po carefully before replying, "I don't know Po. We've been searching for a week with no results. Not even a glimpse of something that we could use to find you a suitable bride."

Po chewed his noodles and swallowed, "Maybe we should just tell my dads. At least we would get that out of the way."

Shifu nodded, "It seems proper."

Both of them nodded in agreement as Ping walked inside, another bowl of noodles on his wings. He silently placed the bowl in front of Shifu and waddled back out. He closed the door to the library to allow the masters to finish their lunch. Po and Shifu wasted no time in finishing their respective lunches, and as they did, they discussed ways to bring the news to Po's fathers. It wasn't that they haven't tried, it was just the fact that they had tried and yet had come up with nothing.

Po had the worst part of it; he was actually getting into the whole idea and already had pictured several cases with a faceless female and his fathers cheering him with happy smiles on their faces. However that image was still quite fragile and Po knew he would recover fast, but the thought was already engraved in the darkest corners of his mind.

Po placed his spoon inside the bowl and sighed. Shifu had finished and was placing scrolls back to their place. Po watched him for several seconds before shaking his head and taking the bowl on his paws. Carefully, he raised the bowl to his lips and drank the broth. He savored the taste as his eyes watched the broth in the bowl when suddenly something caught his eyes. Frowning, Po lowered the bowl and walked over to the glint that had caught his eyes.

Lifting several scrolls, he finally reached the one that had shined to him. The scroll seemed quite old. Po gently took it in his paws and opened it with a gentle paw. He opened it slowly revealing the contents of the scroll. Drawings and symbols he barely recognized danced on its surface as he unrolled more of it.

"Po?" Shifu asked as he saw the dragon warrior staring towards one of the oldest lines of scrolls. "Panda?"

Po then turned to the red panda, eyes still on the scroll, "I think I found it."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

"The what?" asked the five and Po's fathers that same evening after their dinner.

"The Qínglǚ tournament," said Shifu revealing the scroll to them. "Apparently is a tournament for those who are worthy of the hand of the dragon warrior, to earn it."

Ping and Li rejoiced at the news but the five were still quite confused.

"How does this work master?" asked Monkey looking at the scroll.

"Well it's quite the task," said Shifu feeling a certain pride taking over him. "But we'll manage."

The five looked at each other before turning to Po who was behind Shifu staring absent minded at the scroll.

"We'll begin preparations as soon as possible," said Shifu rolling the scroll, carefully. "Panda you know what you have to do…panda?...Po!"

"Yes master Shifu," said Po straitening and looking forward.

"You understand what you have to do right?"

Po nodded slouching once more, "Yes master."

"Po, I'm not your master anymore," said Shifu, he then turned to the five and signaled them with his scroll. "Everything will continue as normal until the day the beginning of the selection part of the tournament takes place. Until then we make sure all of you are in top shape for bandits or any kind of threat that may interrupt the festivities."

"Yes master Shifu," replied the five bowing to the red panda.

"Panda," said Shifu turning to Po. "We better prepare."

Po nodded and accompanied the red panda to the yard and further towards the peach tree.

When they reached it Shifu turned to Po. The darkness and silence of the night covered the duo as they waited. Shifu eyed the panda worried about the outcome of this. Once the pieces started to move there was no backing out, as the scroll said. Po would end up marrying the last candidate…who ever she was. However, according to the scroll, the candidates would grow on the panda. These 'chosen' are all compatible with Po and would be at his equal in combat. They were basically perfect women for the dragon warrior, but so many things could go wrong. Po was shaken, if he didn't end up liking who won the tournament.

"This is so…much to take in," said Po sitting on the roots of the peach tree.

Shifu watched the panda play with the ground at his feet, "Love is certainly something to fear."

"I don't fear love," said the panda staring at his former master. "I'm scared of these strangers who will be fighting to earn my hand. This is wrong."

Shifu eyed the panda and sighed, "Then you want to revoke your fathers plans?"

Po pouted, "They will probably feel horrible."

"Then what are you going to do panda?"

Po lowered his gaze. This entire ordeal was giving the panda mixed feelings all over. He wanted to please his fathers, but he also didn't want to marry a stranger. The scroll said they would compatible with him and that actual winner was the one that earned the heart of the dragon warrior by the end of it. Po had nothing to fear, then why did he hesitate?

A peach bloom moved through the air gently and settled on Po's open paw. He frowned at the bloom, but couldn't remove the weird feeling growing on his chest as he stared at it. Then a gust of wind blew, taking the bloom with it. Po was left there staring at his paw and the bloom in the distance.

"A peach bloom," he said making Shifu frown.

"That'll be the symbol for the warriors," said Po turning to Shifu and see understanding dawning in his eyes.

"Very well," said Shifu. "I didn't expect it to be this fast…I guess we should do this tomorrow, after we tell the villagers. We then proceed to send messages all across China for the chosen."

Po nodded and watched Shifu leave to start preparations. Po watched the village once more before following suit and heading to the Jade Palace.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace," mentioned Shifu the next afternoon as the citizens joined in the Jade Palace ceremonial yard. "The dragon warrior has protected this Valley of Peace ever since his raise to the position as entrusted to him by the late master Oogway. Now after saving China three times, he embarks on a journey of massive proportions. As requested by his fathers –Mr. Ping and Li- Po has decided to search for a bride."

Murmurs were heard on the crowd, Shifu quickly silenced them.

"Given that the dragon warrior is Oogways actual heir, his bride will have to be someone strong and smart to handle the Jade Palace's affairs. After consulting the ancient scrolls, we stumbled upon this ancient tournament that will find the perfect bride for the dragon warrior. Dragon warrior, come forth."

Po moved from his position next to the furious five and walked towards Shifu.

"The tournament will feature several female warriors that are compatible to the dragon warrior's personality. Each of these women will have the mark of the dragon warrior -a peach blossom- on the palm of their paw. Once all these women arrive at the Jade Palace The Qínglǚ Tournament will start. Each entry will fight as designated by the mark until we have our winner. Now dragon warrior…"

Po took a deep breath and got on his stance. Shifu nodded and Po started. He gathered chi on his paws and glided around allowing for it to gather in his palm. The five and Shifu stepped back as the glowing reached a certain point and Po released the golden energy on the skies and screamed. Shifu rushed to the dragon warrior as the giant panda gripped his paw.

"Po are you alright?" asked the red panda to which Po nodded.

"I'm fine," said Po standing and watching his paw.

In the middle was a golden peach blossom. It was neatly designed and great in detail making it hard to imitate by simple brush strokes. Po closed his palm and let out a breath. The rest of the valley and five watched as the golden lights faded and a gong sounded in the yard. Cheers were heard after that, but Po clenched his paw and placed it on his chest.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **well guys next chapter we meet our contestants. *jumps in excitement* this is so cool. I cant wait *-* I'm still missing contestants but...I'll get there. i got two OC's so far one who'll have a familiar name for those that read A Different Choice. Update next week cos i had finals and man if it didn't suck the happy outta me. but after that regular updates every two weeks. i hope i explained the tournament well. if not i'll explain it better later i guess...or even better we get to see how it works *crosses fingers***

 **till next chapter guys wait for that update on the weekend :)**


	4. Chapter 4

All it took was a day, one day and China was bursting with gossip on the contest for the hand of the dragon warrior. Those that had been present rambled on and on about how the ceremony had been an amazing one, filled with color and grandeur. Others saw the mark on the warrior's paw and decided to brag on how close they had been to see the mark and that they knew exactly how it looked.

However as the news traveled China the dragon warrior got ready in any way to receive his guests, helping him were Shifu and the furious five. The Jade Palace staff helped decorate alongside the main group, but only on small details and other things the group might need. It was hard work, but they all managed to decorate the entire place in a matter of days.

"Po," yelled Monkey to his friend.

Po jumped from his position and turned to Monkey, "Um…what?"

"I asked if gold was fine for the dinner table?" said the simian raising his arms to show two table cloths, one silver and the other gold.

Po switched from one color to the other and pointed at Monkey, "Pick one."

Monkey dropped the cloths and stared at the panda that had turned to stare back at his palm.

"He's still staring at his paw?" asked Viper slithering next to Monkey.

"It's like he still can't believe it," said Mantis jumping to Monkey's head. "Heck, I had a hard time believing he would go through with this."

"Not like it's any of our concern," said Tigress walking to the quartet. "Po made his choice."

"You think he's rethinking his options?" asked Crane landing near them.

"I don't know," said Tigress crossing her arms. "Things are quite hard to picture at this moment."

"You got that right," said Monkey. "Who would have guessed, he actually go through with the tournament?"

Tigress shrugged, "All we can do now is watch, and support Po in any way we can."

"You're right," said Mantis before whistling really loud. "Hey big buddy." Po turned to the five. "Race ya to Monkey's secret almond cookie stash."

Po's eyes gleamed with joy, "You're on."

And both were gone before anyone could say a word.

Monkey was the first to blink awake, "Hey!" he said running to join the pair.

Behind him the trio of Tigress, Viper and Crane watched as they rushed to the Palace.

"Well I'll go talk to master Shifu," said Tigress lowering her arms and walking away.

Crane sighed, "You think this will turn out okay?"

Viper just glance at where the trio had disappeared, "Who knows? But I hope everything turns out well for Po. He's doing all this for his fathers after all."

Crane nodded, "You're right."

"Po!" the duo heard Mr. Ping's voice. "Po! Where is that boy?"

"Hello there Mr. Ping," said Viper making the goose turn to her.

"Viper! Thank goodness, where's Po?"

"He went to look for Monkey's secret cookie stash with Mantis and Monkey," she said gesturing the way.

"That boy," said Mr. Ping rushing to the barracks followed by Crane and Viper. "I need him at the shop."

"Another busy day?" asked Crane.

"Something like that," said Mr. Ping as he waddled up the stairs.

Viper and Crane looked at each other before catching up with Mr. Ping.

They walked into the barracks where Po, Mantis and Monkey were in a tight spot. Po had a cookie on his hand far away from Monkey, who had a cookie on his tail and his feet closed tight, one could make out Mantis trying to get away from Monkey's grip.

"Po!" yelled Mr. Ping making the trio stop fighting and turn to him.

"Dad!" said Po untangling himself from Monkey. He then noticed he still held a cookie on his hand and quickly threw it on his mouth. "What's up?"

"I need you at the shop…Now!" said Mr. Ping crossing his wings and tapping his foot impatiently.

Po moved from the duo of friends and to his father, "The shop is full?"

Ping wacked Po with his wing, "What? Now a father needs an excuse to get his son to go help in the shop. If you have time for all this…silliness then you have time to help in the shop."

Po walked out of the barracks followed by the furious four and Mr. Ping.

"Dad, we've been doing stuff for the tournament okay," said Po. "It's not like I took a vacation. Besides we have to make this place as presentable as possible for the candidates and all, yours and dad's and Shifu's orders. I also had to shower."

Mr. Ping waddled in front of his son which made Po turned to the four with an expression that questioned his father's behavior. The four shrugged, but followed the dragon warrior and his father down the thousand steps and near Ping's noodle shop, when they heard it.

Murmurs of awe and wonder were heard as they got closer. Mr. Ping had no problem walking through the crowd that formed in front of his shop, the five however were another story. They calmly made their way, over hearing several conversations as they went through the crowd. Many spoke on how it was possible, others as to whom it was, however they all had one thing in common. Whoever it was, it was a woman and she could do some amazing things inside a noodle shop. This got the five frowning, but curious nonetheless. They turned and once inside the shop they all stayed petrified at what they saw.

A young rabbit was in the kitchen. Her hands moved from one task to the other at an amazing speed. Mr. Ping watched them a small smile appearing on his beak. Li was in a corner of the shop laughing at something another –male- bunny said. The lady spun around and began chopping vegetables and seasoning a soup while doing the task. Both amazing feats considering her seize.

"I see you've come," said Shifu from next to the five. "Amazing isn't it?" he said, his eyes never moving away from the bunny.

"How is she doing that?" asked Po mesmerized.

Shifu chuckled, "You ask the question everyone is asking themselves."

"Isn't amazing Po?" said Ping with tears on his eyes.

"But who is she?" asked the panda.

"Dragon warrior," said a voice near Li.

Po and the four turned to meet with the male bunny Li was joking with earlier.

"How've you been?" asked the bunny.

"Wo?" questioned Po.

"Yes," said the bunny. "You remember me."

"It's hard to forget the man that tried to kill himself because I refused to kill him," said Po.

Wo laughed, "It was to restore my honor, but I regained it with the golden ladle and wow if fate doesn't have a funny way to join us once more."

Po frowned at his statement making Wo laugh once more, "You're so silly dragon warrior."

"Baba?" said the female bunny at the other side of the kitchen. "Who's he?" she said leaning on the counter top.

"Come here Tùzǐ," mentioned Wo. "Let me introduce to you, the dragon warrior."

Tùzǐ turned did some quick adjustments to herself, picked a tray and walked out of the kitchen. She was wearing a purple robe tied by a white sash in her waist. She shared her father's golden brown fur, but her eyes were blue instead of brown. She walked confidently to the masters and bowed before them.

"Masters," she said before raising herself.

The masters bowed back and waited.

"I've made some snacks for you and your companions, dragon warrior," she said handing the tray to them.

Monkey took the tray and ate a cookie, "These are really good."

"Thank you," said Tùzǐ giggling.

"Well dragon warrior this is my daughter," said Wo. "Tùzǐ Hop, and she is a blossom."

The five frowned, "A what?"

"It's the street name they gave the wielders of the mark of the dragon warrior," said Shifu taking a cookie and moaning at the taste.

Po's eyes widen, "Are you saying…"

Tùzǐ raised her paw and there in the middle was her mark, identical to that of Po.

Po barely had words, the four behind him had none, Ping was just so glad he could get a daughter-in-law that could cook and Li…he was glad she could cook and that he finally found someone worse than him in mahjong, that one being Wo Hop.

"You're a master chef?" asked Po to which Tùzǐ nodded.

"That is right dragon warrior, I trained under my father for years to become a master chef. I don't know when exactly I qualified as bride for China's savior."

Wo turned to her, "Don't be like that, I know you'll be amazing."

Tùzǐ looked down, "Thanks baba, but I don't think I fit the profile for dragon warrior lady."

Li laughed and walked up to her, "Nonsense, panda's have a big appetite. You cover that quite well."

Tùzǐ turned to Li but lowered her gaze, "But this is a fighting tournament, I don't know anything about kung fu."

"There are no accidents my dear," said Shifu. "Po understands that, so there must be a reason why you were chosen."

Tùzǐ turned to Po and smiled, "I will try my best to win this tournament, for my village and baba."

"That's my girl," said Wo.

"I see you met the first contestant," said Tigress from the entrance of the shop. Everyone turned to meet eyes with the master as she walked into the restaurant.

Shifu nodded, "Apparently so."

"Ti…" started Po but was stopped mid sentence as Tigress spoke once more. "Perhaps it's time you met the second contestant."

"Another one?"

"So soon?"

The crowd parted and behind them four red parasols twirled slowly. The four parted and flew through the air. The parasols floated in the sky as weightless as one may see. Then they landed and were opened just as quick. The dancers glided through the floor as the parasols had danced in the sky and soon they were closed and used as poles revealing underneath four female leopards. Each danced a single dance that seemed to mend with the rest. None wavered, none failed, as if the routine had been done a thousand times before.

The villagers watched in awe as each leopard took their parasol and used it in new and unique ways, each broad casting a different aspect of the ordinary item. However as new as the entire thing was, something oddly familiar sparked in Po. He'd seen this somewhere but…where.

As he stared, the dancers spun faster around their instrument in graceful swift movements. It didn't take long for the spectators to lose sight of which girl was which, an understatement considering the uncanny resemblance of them all. The girls blurred in their dances, feet barely a blur in the sight of the others. Po gave a step forward, frowning slightly at the sight. He continued giving a second step and then another, as the dancers took their parasols and threw them in the air. They twirled and took their parasols in mid air opening them and throwing them back up.

The five watched the display unsure on how to react to the entire setting. Shifu made his way to Tigress and whispered in her ear, Tigress simply turned back to the girls and left her master see for himself the next contestant.

"I found her when I came back after I delivered the supplies to Mr. Wong," she said. "The girl showed me her paw and…there it was."

"The blossom?"

Tigress nodded, "It must appear at random intervals of time, since she just got the mark."

Shifu frowned at this but held his tongue as Po reached the outer circle of dancers and reached a hand in. The girl that fell on his arms instantly smiled at the panda and held his gaze.

"Hello Po," she said in her sweet voice.

Po's eyes grew wide as he finally laid eyes on the second contestant, "Song?"

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **DUN DUN DUUUUUN we meet our first two contestants 0.0 Sure it's not hype filled since we only got an OC (which makes me nervous) and SONG? How come LoA is here too *gasps* xD i needed females in this and my first source of reference was the movies followed by LoA. Next came the OC's and all that which is cool i guess...i'm not really a fan of Song nor the LoA series, its more like a guilty pleasure for me...actually no it's mere entertainment for when i'm bored since i tend to forget i even watched the episodes.**

 **Well there you guys go i hoped you liked it, i'd like to apologize to nightmaster000 i know i said i was gonna use the OC but i thought an intro with already one was enough BUT WE SHALL MEET THIS OC. i also want to thank The Grey Coincidence and Random Reviewer 1 for making OCs for the story T-T i'd bee so lost if not and these updates would take MUCH longer. The chapters with each OC will be dedicated to that person and will be posted at the beginning of the chapter. thanks you guys so much for filling the roster of females for the combat *makes weird karate noises* you guys are the best!**

 **now we back to update schedule which means every two weeks T-T i can't update sooner than that unless i find free time ;) i think i'm making good time and we in chap four...so...yeah... let's see our next update and what new females we got in store.**

 **I got one more noticed, for those who keep asking for TiPo... xD plz that's not up to me i already explained on how the tourney was gonna work. also i had a GUEST with a sweet idea for the end *shivers* it was beautiful i cried and i totally wanna see that work out T-T but i don't think it would work with the ending fight i have planned *whispers* i came up with something loose after chapter two so i am working towards that goal no matter what.**

 **Hope you have a wonderful day and... Si lees esto masternica tus reviews significan el mundo para mi ya que esta idea es original tuya y yo nada mas la tome prestada. Espero que estos capitulos te gusten y que el concurso sea de tu agrado**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello there, my dear people. Today's chapter is brought to you by** **nightmaster000. Thanks to you this chapter was made possible xD I hope I got her right. At least that I got something cool enough.**

It was too much to take in. At least that's what Po thought as he watched the girls interact with the villagers on his father shop. He went from zero contestants to two in a matter of seconds. It was over whelming for the dragon warrior. He watched as the girls got constantly dragged around and asked questions about how they have gotten their marks. Tùzǐ had been in her father's kitchen when the mark appeared as she served a wave of costumers. Song had been walking back home after a long day when the mark appeared. It was at random, Shifu had said, more will probably appear by the end of the week.

A week, that was the time limit for all the contestants to appear. Then they would finally know how many contestants they were. The scroll of old said hundreds of things, not the amount of contestants, which nearly caused Po to regret the decision to go ahead with the plans his fathers had for him. He was still debating if this was such a good idea after all. He knew Song alright, but that hadn't end well and he didn't know Tùzǐ, who knew how that would end up.

"Relax Po," said Monkey from next to his panda friend. "It's only two."

Mantis chuckled, "But how many by the end of the week."

"A week after the first mark appears and Tùzǐ was the first one, if their stories are actually true," said Shifu from next to Po. "This shall be an interesting week."

Po groaned, "Why did I agree to this again?"

"For your fathers," said Tigress from next of Shifu. "That is what you said, if I recall correctly."

Po glared at her, "Thanks for the explanation Tigress."

Tigress bowed, "Your welcome master."

"I was being sarcastic," said Po.

"This is turning out to be pretty good," said Wo clutching at his daughter's paw.

"He doesn't look very impressed baba?" said Tùzǐ.

"Nonsense," said Wo. "The Dragon Warrior knows how important it's to keep his word."

Tùzǐ wanted to remind her father about the previous incident with the dragon warrior but refrained, "Even so baba, how does a simple cook, win a kung fu tournament?"

Wo shook his head, "We don't know if the tournament is entirely of kung fu. Even so you said you would participate anyway."

Tùzǐ sighed, "Sure baba."

Wo frowns at his daughter and gestures her to stand straight. Tùzǐ does and walks over to the kitchen where dinner is already ready to serve.

Song found herself surrounded by people pressuring her to talk about her mark. Most didn't believe the mark was true even if they saw the mark as clear as day on her paw, and who could blame them. Song had caused problems to the village and Jade Palace once; if it was her, she wouldn't trust herself either.

The crowd however had to leave as Mr. Ping closed shop. He and Li dragged the villagers out as they noticed too much commotion would leave Po open to rethink his choices and for the look on the three faces, they all were rethinking their options.

So that's how everyone ended up sharing a meal cooked by Tùzǐ, Wo and Mr. Ping. The dinner however was anything but lively. It felt like a funeral more than a dinner with friends. Ping glanced at Li who shrugged and decided it was better to get things in their own hands.

"So," started Mr. Ping.

"How did you meet Po Song?" asked Li unsure on how to start off things.

Ping nearly hit his head with his wing as awkward silence settled.

"Oh right," said Song. "We met here in the village, I used to be with a group of performers -The Ladies of The Shade- we were thieves. Our former leader –Su- forced me to earn his trust and get him to enter us to the Jade Palace to steal all the precious things inside. Po found out, stopped us, Su got arrested and well now we are just simple streets performers."

Li's smile was all but gone as the explanation drove on. He cleared his throat and turned to his plate.

"Tùzǐ this plate is delicious," said Ping.

"Thank you Ping," said the rabbit. "It's a simple family recipe. Baba taught me when I was a kit."

Wo nodded, "She was always the quick learner this one."

"I keep wondering how exactly you got your marks," said Monkey. "Not that I don't get it, but Po is not an easy dude to stand up for."

"Hey," said Po.

"It's true big guy," said Mantis.

Song turned to her plate, a light blush covering her features. As for Tùzǐ she stayed staring at her plate before taking a spoon and taking a small sip of her soup, the simple aroma of the soup filling her with warmth and making her moan in satisfaction. Without noticing both their marks started glowing.

Po and Shifu watched in awe as the glowing subsided and the girls turned back to the dragon warrior with curious glances. The other members at the dinner turned to their plates and finished eating. It was an odd thing considering how lively usually dinners were. However none of Po's fathers knew how to continue the conversation without making it more awkward, for neither the contestant nor the dragon warrior.

After dinner Mr. Ping decided it would be nice to allow everything to settle better with a cup of tea. That's how the warriors and the rest spent and extra hour in the shop. The hour didn't seem as loaded, being it the light game of mahjong that Wo, Shifu, Li and Ping ended up playing, or the fact that not much of a load kept in the air for the young ones.

"And he tried to cook rice in his stomach," finished Monkey making everyone but the dragon warrior laugh.

"It wasn't one of my best ideas I admit," said the dragon warrior. "But do you have to keep reminding me?"

"But Po, buddy, who could forget such an incident?" said Monkey.

Po groaned and placed his paws on his face.

"It's okay Po," mentioned Tùzǐ. "I've done some crazy things in the kitchen too. One time I tried to cook using powder, the one inside firecrackers…" Tùzǐ tried to hold laughter in. "I tried…I tried to cook rice…using those and…" Tùzǐ chuckled. "I ended up making an explosion. My fur, the kitchen, the clients were all covered in black soot for days."

Finally not able to hold it much longer she started laughing, "Baba was furious. He didn't let me go to the kitchen for days."

Po started laughing, "What? That is just amazing."

"I know," replied Tùzǐ. "Just the cooking with firecrackers itself was crazy. But I still did it."

Po leaned in, "Did it work?"

Tùzǐ turned serious and leaned in too, "Well…it did."

"No way?" said Po jumping back before moving in closer. "You serious."

Tùzǐ nodded, "Well the bottom half was burnt, but the rest was pretty good."

"You ate it," yelled Po. "Just like that?"

"Well what kind of chef would I be if I didn't," said Tùzǐ rolling her eyes. "It's just normal."

"Hey, dad would never eat something I cooked in an inventive way," said Po.

"Why not?" asked Tùzǐ her eyes widening at the statement.

"Well…first time I tried something fancy I nearly killed a man," said Po rubbing the back of his neck.

"But by failing is how you learn Po," said Tùzǐ. "I lost track on how many times my dad got sick because of me…"

"Hello?" Mantis' voice interrupted the pair. "We're still here you know."

"Right," said Tùzǐ. "Sorry for that masters."

"Nothing to apologize for sister," said Viper. "It's interesting to see how Po interacts with others."

"Also it's nice to get to see Po interact positive to the girls for the tournament," said Crane placing his finished cup down.

"I guess I must be heading out then warriors," said Song. "It's getting late and the Ladies need me."

"But why aren't you going to stay at The Jade Palace?" asked Po as the five turned to her.

Song lowered her gaze, "I doubt you'd want to have me in the Jade Palace after everything that happened; besides I don't want to keep the Ladies out."

"The Jade Palace has rooms for the contestants," said Tigress.

"How many contestants are they?" asked Song.

"We don't know, the scroll doesn't say," said Po looking down at his cold tea.

"Perhaps it would be better to keep a room for another contestant?" said Song.

"But the rooms are for the contestants," said Po. "They're quite big I bet you can accommodate them all in the room. You can even use the yard for practice."

Song thought for a moment, "Are you sure?"

Po nodded as Monkey spoke, "Ask master Shifu."

Everyone turned to the red panda, who was currently staring at the game of mahjong on the table with quite the smug face.

"Master Shifu," interrupted his ex-students.

"Yes, yes, what is it?" said the master, his eyes still glued on the table.

"Can Song stay in the Jade Palace?"

Shifu's ears perked up, "What? That is no longer my decision to make."

Everyone turned to Po once more.

"I think its fine," he said with a smile. "I mean you certainly have come a long way."

"Really Po?" asked Song, and Po nodded in reply. "Well dragon warrior, furious five, I should tell the others."

And with that Song ran out of the restaurant.

"We should head up then," said Po. "That way we can show Tùzǐ and Wo around and get them settled before the Ladies of the Shade go up."

Tùzǐ nodded, "Sounds good dragon warrior."

"Just Po is fine," said the panda walking over to his fathers and former master.

The five followed behind him as Tùzǐ carefully unfolded her paw from her vest. She saw as the glowing became more intense and then lowered until the mark was normal once more. She then turned to Po as he gestured her to come over.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

After Tùzǐ and Wo were settled inside the Jade Palace, Po and the furious five walked down the halls and towards the barracks.

"I can't believe Tùzǐ gave you a shy glance when you left her," said Mantis from Po's shoulder.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Po glaring at his friend.

"Well you're not exactly the…cute material?" said Mantis.

"That's it off my shoulder," said Po trying to shove his friend off his shoulder but failing as Mantis was quicker.

"You have to know that's true big guy," said Mantis dodging Po's paws.

"Either way we should rest," said Tigress. "We might be expecting more company soon, and we wouldn't want our groom to be to look his worst now do we?" she finished with a smirk.

"Not you too Ti," whined Po.

Suddenly something fell from one of the nearby rooms. The five stared at one another before following the noise and noticing the slight light coming from one of the rooms. Tigress gestured all of them to remain silent as they made their way down the hall and to the front of the room. Po nodded and slowly Tigress opened the door and they all slipped inside.

The room was dark except for a small candle lighting the side of the bed. The furious five looked around the room, carefully, inspecting every inch of it. It was then that a shadow caught the attention of the five. They sprung into action trying to control it. However it was a slippery shadow and rushed through the five easily. Po watched all this happen and turned to the door and walked over to not allow it to exit. The shadow stopped in front of Po and rushed to the opposite side. The five were there ready to stroke making the shadow stop on its tracks.

"Show yourself," said Tigress.

The figure removed its cloak to reveal a Siamese cat.

"Who are you?" warned Tigress.

The Siamese cat smiled, "Well, well, well, what do we have here? The furious five and dragon warrior have captured li'l old me?"

"I asked you a question," growled Tigress.

The Siamese cat rolled her eyes and turned to Po.

"You seem like a fair game," she said oddly staring at him. "Something is better than nothing I suppose."

"What are you…"

"Duck," the Siamese cat said and Po was suddenly on his back and staring at feathers fall all around him.

"Sorry for that big guy," said the Siamese cat. "I wasn't expecting any visitors yet."

"What are you talking about?" said Tigress.

"You better start explaining yourself," hissed Viper.

He cat sighed and turned, her paws in the air, "Okay, kitty…"

"And don't call me kitty," growled Tigress.

The cat shrugged, "I think it suits you, anyway I came because I got word of a tournament or sorts?"

Po groaned and got up, he kept removing feathers from his tongue but he made his voice heard, "The Qínglǚ Tournament?"

"Yeah…that, they told me I had to come here because of this," the Siamese cat showed her palm showing the mark to the five.

"A blossom?" said Monkey.

"That's what they keep calling me," she said. "Though, I prefer Nyx."

"So you're a blossom," said Po walking to the cat. "Then welcome to the Jade Palace."

He bowed to her and the cat just watched Po until he stood once more, "Yeah that. Well I was told to get myself comfortable."

"By whom?" asked Tigress as she crossed her arms to stare at the cat.

"By the villagers," said Nyx. "Then I made my way here and I got invited by the palace staff. They showed me around and all that."

"So you came in through the window?" asked Crane.

"I've always liked to think out of the box," said Nyx. "I came to compete nothing more."

"So you're a warrior?" asked Po.

Nyx laughed, "What? Well if you want to say it like that big guy."

"What's so funny?" asked Mantis.

"Nothing, nothing, in any case I'm going to bed, I'm tired," said Nyx.

Tigress glared at the cat, but everyone else walked out of the room. Tigress walked out but looked back as Nyx removed her cloak and climbed on the bed. Tigress turned and started to close the door but stopped three quarters in.

"I won't cause trouble," said Nyx. "I'm too tired."

"I still don't trust you," said Tigress.

Nyx turned to face Tigress, "I said before, I have a slight problem following the rules."

Tigress continued to watch her until Nyx sighed, "Look kitty, I'll make you a deal. I'll sleep tonight and I promise I won't leave…you can even stand and watch right here, but it'll be a waste of time. The mark does more things that what you're aware of. I think more than all of us are aware."

"What do you mean?" asked Tigress walking to the room.

Nyx traced her palm, "When I got this mark, I don't know why but I just ended up coming here. I don't know much of the Valley of Peace other than the furious five and the dragon warrior lives here. But I came here for a reason and I'll fight to find that reason."

"You heard about the blossoms then you know you're a candidate to be the dragon warrior's bride," said Tigress.

"I know," said Nyx. "I'm also intrigued as why I was chosen. I'm neither warrior nor a good person, so why me?"

Tigress stared for a while at the cat and walked out once more, "I don't know. No one knows, but if you're here to find out. then you are more than welcome to stay."

"Kitty," said Nyx. "Do you think I'd be dumb enough to ruin my only chance to get a better life?"

Tigress looked down and closed the door. After that the Jade Palace falls asleep at the same time a dark shadow made its way through the Village.

 **Are you liking the roster? we still missing contestants. I was supposed to show two here BUT if I kept adding stuff this chapter would be HUGE and wouldn't leave space for more ya know? Almost three thousand words later I had to stawp and re-think the chapter to make it good enough for me to post it...or enough to digest. The nickname giving...I'm not good at nicknames so *cleans invisible sweat* it was horrible. So i'm hope this isn't going to slow for you guys, I sometimes wished i'd just jump all these introductions and go directly to the fighting and the kicking and the punching and the winner...AND I CAN'T then you'd all be super lost URGH stupid brain that thinks faster than what i type.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys...sorry for the late update i hope you understand this chapter was a beyotch to write cos i have the contestants and not how i'm going to introduce them. Also i said in one of the previous chapters it would take a week for all the chicks to appear and at my rhythm they'll probably will pop up before three days...which extends my thingy. HOWEVER i fixed that in this chapter. this the number YES you guys get to see how many contestants they are *throws confetti***

 **Im sorry if this chapter seems sloppish and way less interesting than the previous ones. it' not an excuse to not have an idea of what to do but also sloppy writing then i do suck. but if i don't post this now i'll never will and my quota is one every two weeks and i'm already over due by a long shot. I'll fix all my horrible mistakes and get this show running again so i can get to the good part *cackles* also if the characters seem OOC...i've been binge watching a show...so that MAY have something to do with it... *laughs nervously* i'm pretty sure you guys won't guess it so i'm not even going to bother. so yeah BLAME THAT SHOW.**

 **Now enjoy your fanfiction.**

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

The next afternoon, the furious five worked hard in the Training Hall. After -quite the normal morning- the five and dragon warrior got in touch with their simple life routine without being interrupted. Tùzǐ had gone to the kitchen since the early morning -and alongside her father- did countless meals for the Jade Palace's tenants. Now being afternoon it was about time that the five moved to the kitchen for lunch. However, to their surprise, they didn't really had to go anywhere as Tùzǐ and Wo arrived in the Hall with food in trays in hand getting help of several other from the staff.

"Here you go warriors," said Wo. "Hot out of the kitchen."

The five joined the staff and bowed. "Thank you, but you didn't have to Master Wo," said Tigress.

"Nonsense," replied Wo turning to the five. "If my daughter is going to marry the dragon warrior this isn't much…"

"Baba!" interrupted Tùzǐ. "Pardon baba masters. He gets carried away."

The five dismissed it and turned to their food. Taking their proper seats and calmly enjoying their lunch, or at least to the best of their abilities as a loud yawn vibrated through the halls almost as much as the morning gong.

A black feline entered the hall. She rubbed her eyes and yawned once more. The feline turned to the furious five and walked over.

"What's with all this commotion so early?" she asked.

"It's afternoon," said Tùzǐ.

The feline turned to the bunny and lowered her body to look at the smaller animal, "Well, well what do we have here? A little annoying carrot muncher."

"My name is Tùzǐ," replied the rabbit folding her arms.

"Sure it is," replied the feline standing tall once more. "Well you see I'm here to marry the dragon warrior so if you excuse me?"

Po blinked and gasped, "Right, Nyx I totally forgot."

"It was quite late," said Crane remembering the scene last night.

"I didn't forget," said Tigress.

Nyx raised a brow at the tiger, "Of course not."

"How about it Nyx, you can join us while we have lunch," said Po gesturing the small table. "We might have to make some adjustments but…"

Nyx thought about it as she watched Po and the five try to make room for her. Her eyes moved to the rabbit and back at the giant panda before a smirk grew on her lips.

"Why thanks for the offer dragon warrior," said Nyx walking and sitting right next to Po. "I would love a cup of tea right now."

Tùzǐ growled at the black Siamese cat, "I have you know…"

"Is that a bug I hear?" said Nyx looking around.

"I haven't said anything," said Mantis shrugging.

"Look you…"

Nyx sighed, "Why isn't my tea here yet?"

"I'm not your servant," said Tùzǐ. "Actually I'm here for the same thing as you."

Nyx laughed, "You? But you're a tiny bunny."

Tùzǐ clenched her fists, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nyx faced Tùzǐ with a smirk, "It means the mate of the dragon warrior has to be strong and big and you aren't any of those."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Tùzǐ glaring at the cat.

Nyx lowered her body, "See this giant, lovable, squishy panda? Well you are certainly not up to his…stature."

Tùzǐ fumed, "What?"

"Just look at you so…"

Tùzǐ raised her paw, "Don't finish that sentence. I'll just get the tea."

Wo stopped Tùzǐ and gestured to the dragon warrior. Tùzǐ shook her head and got into a silent argument with her father. In the meantime, other staff members brought in a cup of tea for Nyx who immediately drank its content.

"Po!" a voice rang through the Jade Palace.

"Over here dad," said the panda ignoring his lunch and leaving to greet his father.

"Po! Son, I have a surprise for you," said Mr. Ping waddling into the hall.

Po slouched while only one thought ran through his mind.

A gray sheep walked into the hall making Po's eyes grow wide in excitement, "Lu-Shi?"

"Po!" the sheep replied.

"It's so good to see you again," said Po rushing to her and hugging her.

Nyx lowered her cup and stared as her mark began glowing lightly. She knew what it meant thus turned and faced the new comer. Tùzǐ did the same as the five watched in surprise the reaction of both blossoms.

"Is everything okay?" asked Viper.

Nyx drank her tea and smiled at the snake, "Nothing."

Tùzǐ turned and walked out of the hall, Wo following close behind.

Mantis leaned in to Monkey, "This is starting to look like a battlefield."

Monkey nodded and finished his lunch.

"So what brings you to the Jade Palace?" asked Po to Lu-Shi.

Lu-Shi chortled and showed her hoof to the dragon warrior, "It appeared yesterday afternoon. My brother thought on making our way here, but we made it too late. Luckily your dad saw us and we spent the night with him."

Po's smile faltered slightly. After the incident with Tùzǐ and Nyx he wasn't expecting for more company, but apparently the scroll didn't listen to his wishes. How many other girls were going to show up?

"Po?" asked Lu-Shi watched the face of the dragon warrior shift through the emotions.

"Po you're being rude," replied Mr. Ping crossing his wings.

Po shook his head, "Right well, the Jade Palace has rooms for you and your brother. Bring in your stuff and…"

"Already on it son," said Li bringing up Lu-Shi's luggage.

"That is correct dragon warrior," replied Shao –Lu-Shi's brother; as he walked with his luggage.

"Shao," said Po walking towards the ram. "Then let me show you your rooms."

Shao nodded and walked accompanied by Li towards the blossom's quarters. Nyx watched as the dragon warrior disappeared alongside the new arrivals.

"It looks like the rest of the afternoon will be for us?" said Monkey in a dubious tone.

"I suppose so," said Tigress. "I will be at the peach tree, meditating."

Nyx eyed the master with suspicion, but didn't comment as Tigress left the Hall.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Nyx joined Tigress in the peach tree later that same afternoon. She was sneaky about it, but nothing really escaped the tiger master who felt her presence almost instantly.

"What do you want?" asked Tigress not opening her eyes or changing her lotus position.

Nyx walked up to her, "After last night, you wouldn't simply let me walk around on my own."

Tigress remained stationed, "What can I do? Even if I mistrust you I saw with my own eyes how your mark glowed."

"So you mistrusted me?" said Nyx a little taken back, but it sounded forced as if she didn't really care.

Tigress turned to her, "And you wonder about it? Po may not be aware, but I am. Women could try and come here pretending to be blossoms. This is my home and I will defend it from women who try to damage it."

Nyx stared at Tigress and shrugged, "Not exactly what I'm looking for, I wouldn't have come here if I didn't have a choice. But I just…felt as if I had to come here."

"Does this have to do with the things the mark does to you?"

Nyx rubbed the back of her neck, "Perhaps. I've never really felt the need to…belong anywhere until I got the mark."

Tigress stood and walked over to Nyx. With permission, the tiger master watched the mark carefully. The delicate design seemed to be etched on the skin. It felt unnatural, but the beauty of it was undeniable. The mere thought of imitating the design was unthinkable but it didn't mean there was some way to forge a fake one.

"It never hurts to be careful," said Tigress staring at the branches of the peach tree.

Nyx on the other hand turned to the village as she watched a commotion beginning to form.

"What's that?"

Tigress turned and watched as the commotion made its way to the thousand steps.

"I don't know," said Tigress. "But I have a feeling I know what it is."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po needed a break. After leaving Lu-Shi and ditching his fathers, Po made his way to the training hall. He needed to distract himself and this seemed like the right thing to do. The giant panda was a mess, at least his head was, and that scene during lunch didn't help make him feel better. Was it always going to be like this? Stopping at the door Po reflected on if this was the right thing to do; perhaps he should do something else.

Rushing back he made his way to the library and dug out the scroll. Po unrolled it and read through it once more. The instructions were simple. The tournament will give the dragon warrior a wife, a worthy wife. Po sighed and re-read the scroll.

 _On the mark lies the answer to the true mate of the warrior,_

 _The mate will be the warrior's equal in every sense._

 _Their strength combined will be without equal and will last to the end of their days._

 _With devotion and respect both masters will prosper._

Po sighed, that didn't give him clues. He knew that apparently this entire thing would give him a good wife. She would probably be his other half, but this seemed so farfetched. He'd met the current contestant and if he was serious, none looked specifically bad but none had really gotten him in the romantic mood.

Po slouched and sighed.

"Hey Po," interrupted Viper slithering into the room.

"Hey Viper," said Po looking up to his friend. "What's up?"

"Well I saw you going to the training hall to get some extra training when I saw you change course," said the snake making her way next to Po. "Must be really important if you are reading."

"Hey," complained the panda. "Well it's true. This entire contest keeps me on edge. We aren't entirely sure how many contestants are coming and we already have… two of them fighting."

Viper placed her tail on the panda's arm, "Po it was bound to happen. These women are fighting for your affection, plus all of them have different personalities."

Po groaned, "Yeah which brings me to wanting to know how many are they going to be, that way I can at least feel at ease about that."

Viper leaned on the scroll and started reading it. Her eyes scanned it with a close eye as to make sense to anything.

"I see why you would go for this," said Viper. "It sounds pretty tempting. Perfect wife. Harmony. Compatibility at maximum."

"Viper," whined Po.

"Give me a second Po," said the snake.

"Hey guys," interrupted Crane. "What are you doing?"

"Po is nervous about the contest so we are looking for clues as to how many contestants they are supposed to be," said Viper scanning the scroll.

"Oh perhaps I could try," said the avian walking behind Po to read the scroll.

Silence drive on as the three masters scanned the scroll. However none of them were capable to make sense at anything they read.

"I mean there should be a limit…right?" asked Crane after the fifth time he read the scroll.

"There has to be something we're missing," asked Viper rescanning the scroll.

Crane rolled his eyes before his eyes landed on the name of the tournament…He frowned. The Qínglǚ tournament… It was an oddly specific name for a tournament. Qínglǚ… Qí…His eyes widen.

"I got it," yelled Crane.

Po and Viper turned to him as Crane touched the ground once more. He seemed pretty agitated and for the 'words' that left his mouth, the duo of warriors knew it must be big news.

"The hint is the name," said Crane. "Qínglǚ… Qí get it."

Po and Viper's eyes widen, "You mean…"

Crane nodded, "That's the answer."

"The lovers tournament…" whispered Po.

"Or the tournament of the seven," finished Viper turning to the scroll.

"It was a play on words the entire time," said Crane happily.

"Meaning seven contestants," said Po rolling the scroll. "That can't leave the palace."

Viper and Crane nodded. Po hid the scroll once more.

"This is going to be a heavy tournament," he said dropping his shoulders.

"Tell me about it," said Crane. "That is a big number."

Po sighed and Viper wiped Crane. "What did I do?"

Suddenly the moment was broken as a loud gong vibrated through the palace. The trio moved out from the library and to the main patio where they were met with the rest of the Jade Palace tenants.

"Dragon warrior," said Shifu watching his former students reach his side.

"What's wrong master Shifu?" asked Po coming to a stop in front of the red panda.

"We have a newcomer," said the red panda.

Po turned to Crane and Viper. Both nodded at him as he sighed, _contestant number 5._

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **And this is ma master piece *hides face* i don't even wanna see it anymore. Sorry for no Song but i wanted to get the conflicts starting already xD DRAMA ppl!**

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ


	7. Chapter 7

**AND WHO UPDATED TWO WEEKS IN A ROW! i did YES now this...killed me. and i don't mean the writing since nothing really significant is happening yet and we just meeting the blossoms. i mean life in general id being a d*ck and i have to swallow life.**

 **sea la m**** I nvr wanted to grow up. i was the minority of kids that wanted nothing to do with adult life. then puberty came *blegh***

 **anyway i wanted to give ya guys something since i think i didn't update the week before last which was update day. and here it is. i just kept writing and i think i'll have to make chapters longer to keep the flow of so many characters. other than that i want to know how you guys like these characters so far.**

 **Now i shall answer some frequently asked questions that some guests and reviewers have asked me and i haven't replied to...**

 **question one: when will tigress get her mark?**

 **...**

 **question two: will tigress get a mark?**

 **... ...**

 **question three: tigress is going to be in the tournament right?**

 **... ... ... *twitches***

 **question FOUR: will the tournament only feature fighting?**

 ***shines with light of hope* well dearies, yes. but you have got me thinking into other activities that could influence in some sort of tournament like fashion. however these contests would lead then to the two that will be fighting in the tournament their respective week of update. that would be the drill if i get enough ppl to go for it and i am also leaning quite some towards that.**

 **if you like this then you can perhaps leave something that you'd want to see...that keeps under the pg13 rating i'm going for here. so...no bikini contests or mud fights. pg13 think pg13**

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

The commotion reached the walls of the Jade Palace as the tenants observed. The doors of the Jade Palace opened for the newcomer, followed by a thick crowd of Valley citizens. They watched in awe as a litter carriage was carried by four masked men through the patio and towards the center. The masked men lowered the litter made out of wood, fine silk and gold flowers, before stepping back to allow better vision of the rectangular structure.

Murmurs dawned everywhere as speculation rose. This seemed to be the carriage of someone deemed for royalty or someone of high office. The dragon warrior was more than lucky on this one. Po on the other hand swallowed hard.

"You did it big boy," said Mantis from Po's shoulder.

However his voice went unnoticed by everyone as the litter started opening to reveal the occupant. The crowd fell silent in expectation. The tenants of the palace held their breath. Po was nearly faint as the occupants burst out, to the disappointment of many.

A large crocodile in very feminine clothing walked out and started waving to the public. The crowd went completely still at the sight, jaws dropped, eyes widen and double glances were thrown in the direction of the 'lady' before them. However all of them knew something else.

"Fung?" said Po with curious gaze.

The 'lady' giggled and spun around in a 'graceful' way, "Silly dragon warrior, my name is…um…Gary what's my name again?"

One of the masked men facepalmed and turned to the 'lady', "Yu Ling."

The 'lady' giggled again, "Right, that's my name."

The crowd did not seem amazed by the gesture of the crocodile bandit. Actually, several of them seemed rather annoyed that such a grand entrance would be given for a fake blossom.

"Yeah Fung," spoke the dragon warrior. "As if we'd believe that."

Fung started sweating at the accusation. His eyes darted around in a desperate attempt to regain lost ground.

He giggled and raised his claw so the crowd would gaze upon his 'earned mark', "See it's a mark."

Po watched as golden ink dropped from the claw and to the floor, "No it isn't."

"Yes it is," insisted Fung his high pitched voice dropping quite some, but quickly regaining its previous state.

"No it isn't," said Po using a finger to catch some of the paint. "Look its dripping."

Fung's eye twitched before he grabbed his head piece and dropping it on the floor, "Darn it Gary."

"What did I do now?" asked Gary removing his clothes alongside the rest of the crocodile bandits.

"Halt thieves," yelled a voice from behind the giant crowd.

Everyone turned to the voice to face an enraged peahen. She was fuming as she approached the bandits who shrunk at her mere sight. Dozen servants behind her gestured and screamed for mercy or for her to be careful. However the peahen did not hear their words as she approached the bandits. Several metal feathers made their way to the peahen's wings as she approached the crocodiles, swiftly pinning Fung under her and placing the knife under his chin.

"Any last words thief," she said.

Fung gulp and closed his eyes but Po stepped forward, "Hey calm down, I know Fung is not a good guy, but he's obviously not that big of a threat to kill."

"Let me be panda," said the peahen. "This petty thief ambushed me and my servants as we headed to the Jade Palace, he must be punished."

"And he will," said Po. "That's not enough reason to kill him."

The peahen retrieved her knife and stood proudly as her dirtied clothes allowed. Her servants quickly tried to make her look as presentable as possible as some apologized for their mistress' behavior. Once the peahen was as presentable as possible she turned to the tenants of the Jade Palace and bowed.

"Pardon my late and surprising introduction," said the peahen. "My name is Gāoguì and I have come to the Jade Palace to earn my place amongst the blossoms."

Po blinked, "Excuse me?"

Gāoguì turned to the dragon warrior, "Is this not the Jade Palace?"

Po opened his mouth, but Shifu intercepted him, "So you are a blossom?"

The peahen turned and removed the top of her silk robes. The crowd gasped, but Gāoguì kept her robe tight everywhere else. Her back exposed -to the dragon warrior and the former master of the Jade Palace- to show the blossom insignia etched on her back. Shifu walked and inspected the work.

"That is an oddity indeed," he said gesturing for her servants to fix the garments. "I see nothing wrong."

"I thought marks could only show in the hands?" asked Po.

Shifu shook his head, "You re-read the scrolls. Did it say something?"

Po scratched his head, "I didn't see anything."

Shifu then turned to the peahen, "When did you receive your mark?"

"This mark was bestowed upon me two nights ago as the moon reached its peak in the sky. I was slumbering when a sudden jolt awoke me and after a golden glow blinded me I found myself staring at my blossom symbol," replied Gāoguì.

Shifu nodded, "I understand. Are you alone?"

Gāoguì lowered her gaze, "I brought my servants, but that's all I brought besides my belongings."

"Your servants may retire," said Shifu. "The staff of the Jade Palace will attend to your every need."

Gāoguì bowed, "Understood master."

As the five watched the peahen bid farewell to her servants Mantis spoke to the in a lowered tone, "Doesn't she seem familiar?"

Viper turned to look at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well her…I don't know. She seems familiar," he said crossing his claw thingies.

Crane turned to the peahen with a furrow brow, "Now that you mention it…"

"Perhaps she is just one of those people you know?" said Monkey.

Crane seemed dubious, "I guess."

Gāoguì bid her servants farewell and made her way to the Jade Palace, guided by Shifu. Po watched as they left, already counting the remaining number. At least now he knew he only had to look out for two. Staring back at the five he noticed how tense they all seemed. At least he wasn't the only one feeling the load.

Suddenly the peahen stopped and turned to the warriors, "Masters I had to tell you, during my travels I encountered another blossom. She must be making her way here as we speak. She's a lovely lady with impeccable taste and great posture. I hope she receives the same treatment I am have?"

"All blossoms are treated the same," replied master Shifu. "Zeng!"

The gray goose rushed to Shifu's side his wings flapping as he ran, "Yes, master Shifu?"

"Please make sure…Did you happen to catch her name?" asked Shifu to Gāoguì.

The peahen nodded and turned to Zeng, "Her name is Duyao."

"Search for the lady and bring her here," said Shifu.

"Yes master Shifu," said Zeng spreading his wings and taking flight.

Shifu and Gāoguì continued onwards to the palace.

"That leaves one last lady then," said Po staring at his former master and possible 'love interest'.

"What do you mean?" asked Tigress.

"We found out it's not really seven days for all the contestants to show up," explained Crane. "It's seven contestants in general."

Tigress placed her paw under her chin, "I see, that lessens the stress."

Viper nodded, "And now we have only one more contestant that we don't know."

"That should take no time at all," said Monkey.

"Let's hope so," said Po.

"I thought you were concerned over all this?" said Monkey crossing his arms.

Po sighed, "But the sooner we get over with this the better."

"Perhaps he only wants the perks of the job," said Mantis.

Po gave a curious glance to Mantis but decided to skip any weird questions and walk out of the Palace and see this Duyao for himself. Tigress watched along with the five before deciding to help the dragon warrior and walking along with him.

It didn't take long for the warriors to walk out of the village and find Zeng. The goose walked with a frog hoping along with him. She was laughing of something Zeng probably said when her eyes landed on the warriors.

"Hello there warriors," said Zeng. "This is Duyao, the one Gāoguì mentioned."

The warriors nodded and bowed, "It's an honor to meet you Duyao."

The frog blushed and hid her face, "Oh dragon warrior, such a charmer."

"I hope your travels were safe," said Po.

Duyao nodded, "They were indeed dragon warrior. Lady Gāoguì was such a gentle soul helping me when I got lost, but after that it was pretty straight."

"If it's not much," said Tigress. "May we see your mark?"

Duyao smiled and nodded, "Of course masters."

Duyao showed the top of her hand to reveal the golden symbol etched on her skin. Upon closer inspection one could easily see the great details of the blossom mark.

"When did it show up?" asked Tigress.

Duyao blushed and looked elsewhere, "Masters, well… it appeared last night as Gāoguì left the village to head here. She was so excited to meet another blossom in her travels."

Tigress frowned slightly at that but no one seemed to notice as they nodded in unison about the tale.

"Well we're here to escort you the rest of the way to the Jade Palace," said Po being as polite as possible.

Duyao walked towards him and held him hand, "That is so…charming dragon warrior." She finished batting her eye lashes at Po.

Po nodded and along with his friends, made his way to the Jade Palace.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

It was dinner time when the Jade Palace gathered to have dinner. Since the small kitchen was out of the question, the tenants were forced to indulge in dinner elsewhere. The dining table usually used only for festivities -that involved other great masters- was taken out and assembled for the newcomers and the usual members of the Jade Palace. Po sat at the host table as he played with a cup absent mindedly. Around him were the furious five and directly in front of him, the blossoms.

"Po," said Song. "I thank you for this amazing hospitality you've given me and the ladies."

Po nodded, but kept his gaze at the cup he was spinning.

"Dinner's ready!" said Mr. Ping entering the dining room. "I nearly had to knock Wo, that bunny is persistent."

"Baba is that way," Tùzǐ said as a plate was placed before her.

"Well I am very picky with my food," said Wo. "I am also one of the best chef's in all of China."

Ping rolled his eyes as Li made his way to the table and took a seat, "Ping and Wo nearly burnt down the kitchen working to get dinner served."

"If he wasn't so stubborn," said Ping seating next to Li.

"If you weren't so annoying," said Wo.

Ping mimicked Wo and started his meal, "Po, eat."

Po rolled the cup on his hand as he's eyes landed on the mark on his paw. He exhaled as he stared at it before turning to meet eyes with his potential love interests.

So far six found themselves staring at the dragon warrior: Tùzǐ the daughter of one of the best chefs in China, Nyx the Siamese black cat with a rebellious side, Song the ex thief turned dancer through the dragon warrior's influence, Lu-Shi -Po's ex-fiance, and both new comers Duyao, the gentle frog and Gāoguì, the peacock wrapped in tradition given her formal manner.

Po had to wonder, did any of them saw him the way he was? He wasn't the most charming or the most attractive. He was defender of China and future heir to the Jade Palace. The facts made Po curious on how these women got even chosen to be with him. Po still gave it the benefit of the doubt, besides he still had one member to go and soon everything would align for him. Sitting straight on his chair the dragon warrior gestured everyone to start eating, which they obeyed quickly.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Nyx was sitting atop the Jade Palace gazing to the distance. Her eyes darted back to the Jade Palace, specifically the area where the quarters of the blossoms were located.

"If you try anything out of the rules you'd be out of the Jade Palace before you know it," mentioned someone making the feline stare back.

Nyx visibly relaxed, "I see it's the little dancer, what you want?"

Song walked further and sat next to the Siamese cat, "I was a thief once too you know."

Nyx turned to the cat, "What? I'm not a thief. I have a problem with authority not a thing for stealing."

"Well you better not think anything funny," said another voice. "This is a ground protected by the dragon warrior and the furious five."

Both felines turned to meet eyes with a speck looking up. Tùzǐ stared at them with a pretty clear gesture for them to head down. The felines obliged, one going down with a lot more style than the other. Nyx jumped from the roof to land gracefully near the bunny.

"Show off," said Tùzǐ.

"You're just jealous," said Nyx waiting for Song to reach them.

"What were you both doing up there?" asked Tùzǐ once they were all there.

Nyx inspected her surroundings, "I have a bad feeling, since this afternoon."

"Me too," said Song. "When…"

"Duyao," said Tùzǐ. "I thought I was the only one."

"What about the other girls?" asked Song.

Nyx scoffed, "The pampered bird and the weird kung fu master wanna be sheep? Are you kidding me? They wouldn't notice danger if it hit them in the face."

"Po did say Lu-Shi was good at kung fu," said Tùzǐ.

"Who cares? Haven't you seen the dragon warrior? He's more confused that we are about all this," said Nyx. "Why even go with a plan when you don't want it?"

"Po did it for his fathers," said Song. "Rumors run rampart around the Jade Palace."

"Haven't noticed," sarcastically replied Tùzǐ.

"At least one thing is for sure," said Nyx. "We have a bad feeling on Duyao."

The two remaining nod in agreement.

"However it's so odd," said Song. "She showed her sign and she had a story."

Nyx rolled her eyes, "The petty thief doesn't know about making up a story."

Song glared at the cat, "I know more than you'll ever know."

"Good then," said Nyx.

"Then what?" said Tùzǐ. "We tell Shifu we have a bad feeling on Duyao?"

"No," a voice interrupted. "You tell me."

They all turn to meet eyes with Tigress who walked away from the shadows.

"I thought it was odd the first time I laid eyes on Duyao," Tigress said.

"Master Tigress," bowed Tùzǐ. "We didn't mean…"

Tigress held her paw, "This stays with us."

Nyx crossed her arms, "And what if we refuse?"

"We need a right moment to show case the falsehood of Duyao if it's true," said Tigress. "As fun as I'd be to burst through the Palace yelling that Duyao is a fraud, that's not how things work in the Jade Palace. We stay low and keep this until the right time."

Tùzǐ and Song nodded but Nyx remained still, "You sure you're not a blossom?"

Tigress raised a brow, "What?"

"You keep glaring at all of us," she said. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"I told you," said Tigress. "The Jade Palace is my home. I won't let it fall in the wrong hands."

"So you're helping your friend find a wife?" asked Tùzǐ.

Tigress shook her head, "I'm making sure the Valley and the Jade Palace have a worthy leader."

"So you don't care who Po ends with?" asked Song.

Tigress clenched her fists, "Also if any of you dare even harm Po, you'll wish you had rethought your options. You have not only me to worry about. Only an idiot would have shown here knowing the kind of back up Po has as the dragon warrior."

"What if there is already an idiot in the Jade Palace ready to get the dragon warrior?" asked Song.

"Then she's yet to meet an angry tiger," said Tigress a smirk showing her teeth in the dark night.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **Special thanks to The Grey Coincidence for allowing me to use his OC for this tournament. I hope i got her right 0.0  
**

 **next chapter we MIGHT get the complete roster of competitors if i don't decide to make an entire chapter dedicated to Po cos i think i've stranded from him a little bit and you guys aren't really SEEING how the tournament is affecting him BUT he will be the Po we all know and love for the tournament.**

 **hope you enjoyed this chapter and see ya next time**


	8. Chapter 8

**Would you look at that, i finally got out of my shell and came out with a new chapter. I just find out something amazing! i have horrible time managing skills -_- oh well this chapter has a little surprise and something important at the end in an authors note.  
enjoy!**

Po found himself that night meditating under the peach tree. Thousands of feelings and thoughts clouded his mind as he sat there. He hadn't meant for this entire thing to get out of hand, and in a way it had. Six contestants in and not one that Po said, ' _that's the one I want'_. It was in a way his fault. He expected this to be as simple as eating a hundred dumplings in just a few seconds.

He hadn't counted on the different personalities clashing; he hadn't expected some pairings that would be considered _odd_ for a lack of a better word. Even if the girls all seemed 'nice' theoretically mating with some would prove…rather difficult.

Not that Po thought about mating. His father mainly told Po that everyone came from an egg from a very young age, and Po never questioned it. However with the tournament Po searched more in-depth and…let's just say no wonder his father never mentioned anything. Po shivered involuntarily remembering those images in the scrolls. Who knew that was how it worked.

Po sighed and removed those thoughts from his head. It was better if he just took things, one step at the time. Po would have to make a decision and he hoped that the last contestant would be the one that decided everything. With the polls close at least he could relax a little bit. Besides that he also had to train the five. Po dropped his pose and elbowed the peach tree allowing for a peach to fall and land on his hand. He ate the first one, and a second, and a third but it didn't proof useful. What if this entire ordeal was just a big mistake?

"Do you think it was a mistake?" asked someone from behind Po.

Po jumped and turned as the old turtle chuckled, "Master Oogway!"

"Calm down Po," said Oogway from his position a top of the golden tree. Po turned around noticing the endless sea before him, giant floating stones and golden skies.

"How did I…"

"Those who need guidance always find a way," mentioned the turtle casually.

"I am that lost?" said Po, eyes widening.

Oogway chuckled once more and made his way towards the panda, "So, what's up?"

Po sighed, "You know the tournament? Well I am thinking; more like over thinking everything."

Oogway nodded, "And that is…bad?"

Po blinked, "Of course it is master. Usually people that do this are a hundred percent sure they want this. I am not sure this was even a good idea."

"They say that usually, the first answer is the correct one," said Oogway. "What was your first impression?"

Po thought for a second, "I was scared. My mind all jumbled up I could barely process what was being said."

Oogway stayed silent allowing the dragon warrior to continue.

"I remembered being confused, nervous, but…"

"Yes."

"I…I got excited," said the dragon warrior sitting by the water. "The fact that getting married concerned my dads was enough to put a smile on my lips. It means they do care. I mean kung fu is my life and…sharing it with someone else doesn't sound that bad."

Oogway sat next to Po, "Then why are you still wavering over it."

Po lowered his gaze, "I…don't know."

"If you're certain," said Oogway. "I believe you have found your path."

Po turned abruptly, "What? I didn't solve anything."

But his surroundings had changed back to the peach tree in the Valley of Peace. Po sat back down and gazed at the half eaten peach on his hand. He sighed and threw it deciding it was better to have a night's rest before doing anything else.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

The next morning the tenants of the Jade Palace found themselves with a surprise. Unable to sleep, the dragon warrior fixed breakfast and cleaned the training hall and other places in the Jade Palace. Shifu remained stoic at everything he saw unable to believe the dragon warrior had done everything in one single night.

"Master Po left a message for the furious five," said Zeng. "He said you could enjoy the rest of the day however you like. He couldn't find it in him to see for your training, but that tomorrow you'll be receiving normal training, unless the last contestant shows up today."

"That's a high probability," said Gāoguì. "I am surprised that I arrived here earlier than the last contestant."

"Where do you come from Gāoguì?" asked Crane.

The peahen turned to her food, "I was raised in a village the near the sea."

"Really?" asked Crane.

"You do not believe me master?" said Gāoguì frowning.

Crane raised his wings, "No need to be offended."

As this took part in the walls of the Jade Palace, down in the Valley of Peace, Po had arrived early and helped with chores around his father's noodle shop. The panda found that perhaps the best option to think was, not thinking at all. Take a few steps back and really get to feel his surroundings. The work didn't seem to help much but it served the purpose of distracting him. Not even the mark on his paw seemed to affect him, that much.

That all changed about noon. Po had just finished the lunch rush and he was cleaning tables alongside Li while Ping cleaned the kitchen. Li was making a joke about Shifu losing to Ping in mahjong when they heard two voices coming from outside of the shop. Turning they met two figures entering the establishment, both felines and speaking in a foreign language.

" _I'm telling you they were looking at us funny because we are speaking Japanese,"_ said the male of the two, a black tiger with a stern expression.

" _No they aren't, now shush we need to find the Jade Palace as soon as possible,"_ mentioned his companion.

The female of the group wonder towards Po and bowed, "Excuse me, are we near the Valley of Peace?"

Po eyed the black tiger before him. She wore red tunic with silhouettes of birds and lotus flowers around it, underneath a pair of black training pants. Around her neck a golden locket fell delicately to her chest. Po eyed her and her companion before bowing.

"This is the Valley," he said making the feline turn to her companion.

" _Yes! See, I told you,"_ said the feline to her companion.

The other tiger merely rolled his eyes, _"You made your point, now ask him about that palace…thing."_

The girl turned then to Po once more, "You wouldn't happen to know the Jade Palace, would you?"

Po blinked several times finally setting the pieces together.

"You're a blossom?" he asked.

The black tiger nodded and showed her mark, "I got it several days ago. When it appeared they told me to go directly to the Jade Palace to meet up with the dragon warrior."

Po nodded, "I see, well yes the Jade Palace is actually up the thousand steps, big building, red and gold paint, giant pillars, can't miss it."

The feline bowed, " _Thank you_ greatly…"

Catching up quickly Po continued, "Po, my name is Po."

The feline straightened and smiled, "Thank you then, Po. My name is Karasu, me and my friend Zakku, we just arrived from Japan and without your help we would be sincerely lost."

"Po who's that?" asked Mr. Ping waddling towards them.

Po turned to his father and pointed at Karasu, "Dad this is Karasu a blossom from Japan."

"Japan!" yelled Mr. Ping. "From so far off?"

Karasu nodded, "Well my mother is Chinese, Zak on the other hand is fully Japanese."

" _You make it sound like it's a bad thing,"_ said Zak.

" _Zak,"_ replied Karasu. "Anyway we most get going; I have to meet this famous dragon warrior."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mr. Ping. "He's right here."

Karasu and Zak eyed Po with wide eyes.

"You," said Zak walking forward. "You're the dragon warrior?"

Po sighed and hid his face on his palms; Li chuckled and patted his son's back, "Sure is."

Karasu gave a small smile as Zak walked to her.

" _He's a panda,"_ He said. _"This has to be a joke; I won't let you fight for this…warrior's hand."_

"Zak," said Karasu. "I thought you were better than to speak behind people's back."

"Fine," replied the tiger with a thick accent. "I do not think it's a good idea of you to fight in this tournament for the hand of a panda."

Po lowered his paws as Ping crossed his wings, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Zak raised a brow, "Karasu is the leader of our clan, I find it insulting that she has to fight for the hand of a panda. Is he even the feared warrior of legend that defeated Tai Lung and Shen and mastered the ancient art of chi?"

"Zak," growled Karasu. "You are a member of the raven clan, you should know we do not judge a warrior based on their appearances."

Zak turned, "But…but…"

"No buts Zak," replied Karasu. "I know this is new for you," she placed her paw on his shoulders. "It is for me too but I must do this."

Zak lowered his gaze, "I understand…however that doesn't mean I shall not challenge this panda to proof his worth if your hand."

Karasu stuck her tongue out to Zak, "Always the big bad guy, aren't you?"

Zak leaned on Karasu, "You know me."

Karasu rolled her eyes and turned to Po, "Well it's an honor to meet you dragon warrior."

"I'm guessing you guys are friends," said Po gesturing at each of them.

"You guess right panda," said Zak.

"Actually," said Karasu. "You got lucky that we met the dragon warrior now."

Zak froze, "I thought you were kidding."

"Have I ever 'kid'?" asked Karasu as a smirk grew on her lips.

Zak swallowed _._

Karasu chuckled, "Well dragon warrior we should be heading to the Jade Palace?"

Po nodded, "Sure. Dads I'll be going and…"

"Don't worry Po," said Mr. Ping.

"Yeah son," finished Li. "We'll see you at dinner at the palace."

Po nodded and gestured the black tigers to follow him to the Jade Palace.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Gāoguì watched as the Ladies of the Shade held their training in the courtyard of the Jade Palace. A tea cup held on her wing as she sat under the shadow of a tree. The peahen exhaled and took a sip of her cup before licking her beak and allowing the serene afternoon to dance around her.

Song noticed the peahen and walked up to her during a small break the ladies took, "Hey want to join us?"

Gāoguì watched the leopard before lowering her cup in a precise manner, "I cannot participate in such acts. They are undignified of a person of my stature. I, however, find your performance breath taking."

Song nodded, "Thank you, though this is still a practice."

"I did assume you did more during an actual performance," mentioned Gāoguì.

"That is correct," replied Song. "Why do you talk like that?"

Gāoguì momentarily froze before picking her cup gently and taking a small sip, "I was raised to be this way. I'm the epitome of perfection."

Song eyed the peahen before turning to her ladies, "I should head back. You're welcome to accompany us if you want."

Gāoguì bowed her head as Song sprinted to her ladies.

A chuckle broke behind Gāoguì, "My lady would it be too much to refrain from telling lies."

Gāoguì turned to meet eyes with Duyao. The peahen stood dropping her cup to which Duyao clicked her tongue.

"Such a waste," said the frog. "A princess like you shouldn't be jumpy over a voice."

"I do not understand your accusations Ms. Duyao," replied the peahen.

The frog raised a brow, "Don't play saint with me."

Duyao then pulled out a torn page of scroll. Gāoguì eyed the page with wide eyes, "Where did you get that?"

Duyao laughed, "Would you believe if I told you that I found it lying around?"

Gāoguì frowned, "No, I would not."

"Then why ask?"

Gāoguì then frowned as she stared at the frog, "Where's your mark?"

Duyao grinned making Gāoguì eyes go wide.

"Let's keep that mouth shut now don't we," said the frog pulling the peahen to another part of the Jade Palace.

Song was giving new instructions to her ladies when her paw sent a jolt of electricity through her. Gasping with the aftershocks, Song turned her paw to stare at the glowing peach blossom in the middle of it. Song frowned but soon found console as the others showed up in the yard.

"What happened?" said Tùzǐ her face covered with flour.

"I was taking the best nap, when this thing shocked me," growled Nyx.

Song shook her head, "I don't…." Song's eyes wondered to where she had seen Gāoguì, only to be met with the fallen cup. "Gāoguì?" questioned the leopard.

The two others turned around in search of the peahen to no avail.

"Was the princess here?" asked Nyx frowning.

"Yes, she was watching the ladies and me practice but now she's…"

"Gone?" finished Lu-Shi arriving to the scene.

Song frowned at the downed cup and walked to pick it up. Her paw inspected the cup carefully noticing the perfect state of it. However nothing seemed out of place. From the doors a figure watched and rushed to where the peahen had been taken.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

"You're insane!" yelled Gāoguì.

Duyao clicked her tongue at the peahen, "Princess I suggest you to mind your language, besides I'm not the one who got in here looking for redemption."

"I will not help you with this, what you ask for is outrageous," replied the peahen.

"Let me remind you," said Duyao. "You are just as bad as I am, perhaps even worse."

"Those acts were not commited by me," replied Gāoguì.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree honey, and if that display against the crocodile bandits says anything is that you're just as unstable as that power crazed peacock you called a cousin," spit Duyao.

"I will not help you," yelled Gāoguì.

"As if you had a choice," smirked Duyao.

"Perhaps she does," said Tigress walking into the conversation.

Gāoguì gasped and stepped back as she lowered her gaze, "Master Tigress it's not what it seems."

The tiger master turned to the peahen, "Are you related to Shen?"

Gāoguì's wing fell and she nodded, "Yes."

"We we'll speak about this in another moment," mentioned the tiger master before turning to Duyao. "So the blossoms suspicions of you were true."

Duyao laughed, "And what are you going to do Master Tigress?"

"You plan to ruin my home and destroy the place I swore to protect," Tigress took her stance. "And as it's protector I must destroy threats."

Duyao smirked, "A fight?"

Tigress smirked back, "Afraid?"

"Me? Don't be ridiculous. Who has to be scared," Duyao took her stance. "It's you."

 **Hello and welcome to authors not numbah two. I want to thank Random Reviewer 1 for Karasu and Zakku. i know i showed them late but i feel horrible for trying to balance OC's with show characters and movies. i actually made a HUGE list of names from characters from the show and the more i looked at it the more cringy it became. so i opted for more OCs that MIGHT be beter suited for Po. sorry if you fav wasn't included.**

 **Now up to the good shit: The Tournament is officially OPENED FOR BUSINESS!** **WHAT A TWIST** **!** **THAT'S RIGHT I'm giving you guys the chance to choose the winner of this fight.**

 **DUYAO VS TIGRESS!**

 **WHO WILL WIN? leave a PM or review with the name of the contestant you want and will see who wins by the wednesday nxt week. then i'll write the chapter and post it for your reading pleasure. let's see how this goes for our first two contestants and see who will win a DEATH BATTLE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I LIVE! Miss me? I am sorry but well this was harder than I thought BUT i managed and i think it came out decent...the fighting at least. Well on to see the winner.**

Po held his paw to his chest as it grew hot. His mark had started glowing and immediately it had started to burn. It was excruciating, as Po held his paw and ran up the thousand steps followed by Karasu and Zak. Karasu –like Po- was unaware on why the sudden burning sensation and the glowing started, but one thing was for sure to both of them, something was happening and they had to reach it soon.

Shifu meditated calmly in the hall of heroes. It was a relaxing morning and the red panda just wanted to take his chi training to the next level. This was proving itself to be quite difficult for the master, but he was determined to understand and master chi such as his master had before him and former student/ dragon warrior had. The red panda inhaled and exhaled when the sound of rushing feet cut through his concentration. Shifu frowned and inhaled once more, this time being interrupted by the sudden opening of the doors in the hall.

"Master Shifu!" called Viper. "We have a problem!"

Shifu turned to see not only his former students there but also the blossoms, "What happened?"

"It's Gāoguì," mentioned Song. "She's gone."

"She perhaps is around the palace grounds," said the red panda casually walking towards them.

The blossoms stared at each other to show Shifu the glowing marks. Shifu's eyes widened as he dropped his hands.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We don't know," said Nyx. "But whatever it is, it's big."

"We must hurry then," said Shifu walking out of the hall. "We need to find Gāoguì before something happens."

Just as the words left Shifu, the ground shook startling everyone. It wasn't unusual that the earth shook, however it wasn't normal for the earth to shake for less than a second before returning to normal.

"That's weird," said Viper.

"Perhaps not," said Shifu as he tried to pin point the cause of the sudden quake.

However the red panda didn't have to think much as the blossoms sprinted towards the ceremonial ground with no motive.

"I believe we got our answer," mentioned Shifu before him and the five sprinted forward to follow the blossoms.

Po reached the front of the Jade Palace's ceremonial yard. The same place he had received the title of dragon warrior by master Oogway, what now felt like an eternity ago. He rushed forward towards the giant double doors and had no problem passing them and running inside. Karasu stopped barely to stare back to Zak –who had fallen somewhat behind.

" _Why the sudden rush?"_ Asked Zak in his mother tongue.

Karasu shook her head, _"I don't know, but I feel like I have to be here."_

Zak stared at her, _"This mark thing is changing you Karasu. First the sudden trip to China, now you just keep doing things for no apparent reason. Karasu, you're my best friend and leader of our clan, please; let's go back and forget all this nonsense."_

Karasu stared at Zak before a rumbling noise made her turn to the Jade Palace.

" _Sorry Zak,"_ she said running inside.

Zak sighed and ran to catch up with her.

Tigress stepped back as she saw Duyao smirk, "What's wrong kitty? Afraid of me?"

Tigress growled, "Think again."

Duyao rolled her eyes, "You realize you're fighting me for the family of the one who swore to destroy China?"

Tigress didn't change her stance, instead gained a more solid one, "You forget she isn't the one threatening my friends, it's you."

Duyao's smirk increased, "Touché,

Po burst into the ceremonial ground to see Tigress and Duyao both in fighting stance.

"What's going on here?" he yelled as Karasu and Zak joined him.

Tigress and Duyao didn't move, however the other blossoms made their presence known by looking down at the fighters.

"Tigress?" asked Song starring down.

"Master Tigress!" yelled Gāoguì catching up with the fighters. "You don't have to do this."

"She'll kill you, then destroy the Jade Palace," said the tiger master. "I'm not going down that easily."

Duyao smirked, "Suit yourself."

Duyao launched forward, fist in the air ready to land an attack. Tigress stepped back and blocked the first couple of punches before jumping back and readying her stance. Duyao moved forward and continued to try and connect her punches, which the tiger blocked with ease. Hopping back Duyao got her stance ready but Tigress had other plans as she launched forward to face the frog.

Punches were evaded and blocked as the tiger master moved trying to connect a fist with the frog. Duyao hopped back of Tigress managing a first good punch on the tiger's back.

"See kitty I'm just getting started," said Duyao with a grin.

"So am I," Tigress said spinning around and connecting her legs with Duyao's back.

The frog –noticing this- hopped to evade but was met with Tigress foot as the tiger changed direction and managed to hit the frog on her face.

Tumbling back Duyao held her nose, "What the…"

Tigress quickly found her feet and took her stance, "That still was nothing."

Duyao growled and launched forward punches and kicks being blocked by the master and vice versa.

"What's going on here?" asked Shifu turning to Gāoguì.

"Duyao…tried to enter the tournament by faking her mark," replied the peahen. "She…she…wanted to enter then take my mark."

"What?" said Shifu surprised. "The mark is bestowed, not…"

"But if she got rid of me she got a good chance to earn it," replied the peahen. "Tigress found out about her other plans to the Jade Palace and intervened."

"What plans?" asked Viper.

Gāoguì turned from all of them to the fighters who seemed to be even further in their combat.

"She wanted to be mistress of the palace for its riches," said Gāoguì watching Tigress fight. "This is Tigress' home."

Everyone turned to the fight as now both fighters seem to be taking the fight more seriously.

Duyao had started to quicken her pace in attacks launching more punches as Tigress landed less, but focused more on each strike. It was quite even still, and one of them needed to take the advantage. Tigress and Duyao knew that. However Duyao had a clearer vision of what she wanted.

Clenching her fist and jumping out of the way she quickly turned her fist to the ground enabling a small earthquake that lasted a fraction of a second, but it was enough to take Tigress by surprise and make her lose her footing. Duyao rushed in to the tiger master and connected several hard punches. They didn't seem different, however Tigress felt them different. Each punch felt like iron wood trees punching back at her and trying to break her bones. Duyao continued this assault but noting the tiger's resistance she increased her attack.

"The kitty is tougher than she looks," she said as new punches connected.

"We gotta help Tigress!" yelled Crane but he was stopped by Nyx.

The blossoms were starring at the fight with a close eye, none of them even seemed remotely interested in intervening in the fight at all. They were relaxed and ready to see the outcome.

"This is their fight," replied Nyx as her mark began to glow.

The blossoms nodded as their palms began to glow also.

Duyao hopped back leaving Tigress beaten up. The tiger had looked better, but she had also looked worse. However Duyao thought it close enough to an in-between to show this tiger who was in she messing with.

"Had enough master?" asked the frog.

Tigress stood and took her stance. Her limbs wavered slightly, but she managed to shake it off. She turned to the frog and launched an attack of her own.

Duyao grinned and hopped away from the attack before every ones astonished gaze. She then turned to Tigress and pulled out a sword from her robe. The tiger's eyes grew wide, sure that there was no way the frog had kept that there this entire time.

"What's the matter? Surprised?" asked Duyao taking her stance with the sword.

Tigress growled and tightened her stance as Duyao rushed, sword in hand. Tigress dodged the sword and landed punched of the frog's midsection before kicking her away from the area. Duyao regain her step and within seconds found herself in front of Tigress ready to strike. Tigress dodged and kicked the weapon away, before she turned and blocked the next strike of the frog.

Duyao jumped on Tigress and used her as impulse to get some distance. Tigress ran and strikes the frog sending her flying back and colliding with one of the pillars on the ceremonial grounds.

Duyao walked out of the debris, "You'll pay for that."

Tigress took her stance ready to fight once more. Duyao didn't waste her time and quickly began to fight the master with fists and kicks. From time to time either would land a successful punch, but both continued fighting.

Po noticed the scene and continued watching carefully as they fought. His thoughts were blank not wanting to interfere in the fight. He was neither excited nor calm; he was just watching the events unfold. His palm began to sweat as her saw the successful punches deal damage to the other. Each was great but they'd only be one winner. Po extended his paw and watched as golden chi came out from it dancing around the ceremonial ground like a shield. The blossoms did the same to the astonishment of the present, except for the fighters who continued on.

"Face it you can't win kitty," said Duyao landing a punch on the tiger.

Tigress recovered and spun a kick to the frog, "Someone is overly confident of their skills."

"You haven't seen anything yet kitty," said Duyao as she changed her fighting stance. Tigress frowned at this but her eyes grew wide as Duyao began to multiply all around the golden light.

"What now kitty?" they said in unison and pulling out sword from their robes.

Tigress got ready before all the clones went in for the fight.

Duyao over powered Tigress immediately, the power of her alone was pretty good but her clones also attacking Tigress was overwhelming for the master. She tried to counter the ones she could and took the attacks that she couldn't block. Slices were made on her fur and the punches seemed to deal bruises but the master continued fighting, she had a reason not to lose.

Tigress managed to hit one and at contact with it, it vanished. Tigress began to fight them back trying to get rid of the enormous amount. She then heard a grunt and turned to be faced with Duyao from the second floor of the ground.

"You think you're so clever?" asked Duyao. "Well no one has ever topped me."

Tigress noticed as all the clones disappeared leaving flowers falling all around the master as the illusions formed into a ball. The glowing energy engulfed Duyao and concentrated in the palm of her hand. Unsure of how to react Tigress took her position ready to deflect it. Duyao laughed.

"I want to see you dodge this," and she let the ball go towards Tigress.

The tiger master waited until the ball got close and tried to take it in. The contact burned and singed her paw, but the master was determined not to let Duyao win this. The ball suddenly exploded leaving a giant cloud of smoke in its wake. Duyao watched her handy work with a close eye and a giant grin. She had defeated one of China's finest warriors single handedly; surely this would get her a mark. However the mark never came.

As the smoke cleared and the giant golden shield lowered Tigress appeared in the middle of the arena, paws in her holding position one of them glowing in the mist. Once the smoke was gone the reason why her palm glowed was finally visible, in her palm was the mark of the blossoms. Every one's eyes went wide at the sight; it was so shocking that even Duyao let out a gasp.

"No!" the frog yelled and rushed to the tiger master.

Her movements now were sloppy considering the amount of power she had placed on that final attack. Tigress easily over powered her and pinned her to the ground.

"You'd be a better fighter if you weren't so clouded by power," she told the frog.

Duyao growled and tried to move, but she was now drained and unable to do much but struggle in the ground.

After a while several rhinos took her away, leaving the tenants in the Jade Palace to admire the work of the tiger master's fight.

The ground was just as before, not a scratch in sight. No one would ever notice that a fight took place in that same place just a couple of minutes ago.

"That was an intense greeting," said Karasu nudging Zak, he simply rolled his eyes.

"A new blossom?" asked Shifu, eyes wondering to the pair.

Po turned, "Guys this are Karasu and Zak."

Karasu and Zak bowed to them, "It's an honor to be here."

Shifu returned the bow and lifted, "It seems we finally have everyone here." The five and Po turned to the seven contestants.

"Welcome to the Jade Palace formally, blossoms," said Shifu bowing to the girls. The five followed suit leaving Po to stare at his paw.

These warriors were the ones that would fight for his hand and the right to be the lady of the Jade Palace. He closed his fist and bowed to them which they returned. It was an odd moment; that was until Mantis spoke.

"Am I the only one freaked out that Tigress has to marry Po?"

Everyone groaned.

 **AND WITH NINE VOTES TO HER FAVOR, TIGRESS JOINS THE ROSTER!**

 **I want to thank The Grey Coincidence for letting me use Duyao for this fanfic, She was quite underdeveloped but i promised i wasn't going in-depth with characters until AFTER the tournament started. Sorry that she didn't win T-T**

 **A special shout out to that,** **Anonymous (Guest): That isn't reading this anymore because Tigress is not a blossom. Dude, patience is a virtue and you missed it. *cleans invisible tears***

 **ANYWAY now imma credit everyone and their OC that made it into the tournament:**

 **Tigress (KFP)**

 **Lu-Shi (KFPLoA)**

 **Song (KFPLoA)  
** **Gāoguì** **(Several: TheyTookMyUsername, SuperXWolf,** **Pandalimon)**  
 **Tùzǐ (TheyTookMyUsername)  
**

 **Karasu (Random Reviewer 1)**

 **Nyx (nightmaster000)**

 **There's your roster mi gente.**

 **In other news i'd promised myself i'd do this once the contestants were shown so here goes. If you're wondering why they are so many OC's in this fanfic instead of going for -ya know characters already done in the series of movies- it's because i made a list (a HUGE one) with contestants. However when i sat down and started reviewing most of them...didn't feel right. Mei Ling has that panda at the end of KFP3 (the one with the teeth). Viper was another option, but Pandalimon and I felt dirty as we thought the possible plot. The rest were either to short in character OR were bad guys and that didn't fit the mythological mumbo jumbo i had to go with it would make the tournament. So in the end, SuperXWolf, Pandalimon, and I thought it was better if we just made OC's. However Pandalimon wasn't in the mood since she didn't enjoy the concept alot and SuperXWolf isn't good at making OC's, long story short we all DID work on Gaogui for like...ten seconds because they left most of the personality to me. We all agreed tho that making her related to Shen was a good development on a character.  
**

 **well this note has gone off for long. If you have any questions feel free to PM me or leave a review (since i always reply unless you're a guest with no name) The tournament will be further explain as the thing goes on and stay tune for next chapter. BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**


	10. Chapter 10

***gets walkie talkie (perks to ya if you know what this is)* Is it safe? Well Hello my people *shields self from possible disaster* WAIT HERE ME OUT! So this chapter was supposed to be up Friday night, right? But my computer did get internet (that's normal for my computer) but i simply said 'i'll upload it tomorrow' worst...mistake...ever. apparently the electric company thought it was funny to cut the light for over 12 hours on saturday, and sunday morning and afternoon. Hi-FUCKING-LARIOUS. that wasn't even the worst part! no, i took a project that was supposed to be done on saturday afternoon and i couldn't do friday cos my internet issue and i had to make it late into the night on saturday skipping precious time with my partner who just came back from a trip! *takes deep breath* i'm not one to rant about my personal life interferences for my fanfiction upload but this was far beyond my control, i hope you guys understand.**

 **also a little note, this chapter is not 2000+ words, it's 1950+ at best, why? you may ask yourself. you see there were just several things that needed to be said before the NEXT CHAPTAH and two of those things are mentioned here. also i've noticed i've neglected Lu-Shi ( i seriously forgot she was even in the competition) so she will be mentioned more...next chapter. since i neglected her i decided she will take part in the next fight no matter what. i hope that is to your liking *rubs hands together* now to make some drama for her to play a part in and let's see who you guys think should win ;)**

Tigress stared at her palm absent minded. She was in her room in the barracks. Usually one wouldn't see her there that early, considering the sun was up and her injuries hadn't been the worst. On a normal day she would be out training or practicing her chi, but today wasn't one of those days.

Using her other paw, she gently traced the lines around the golden bloom. It was so hard to believe that she had been chosen to become the lady of the dragon warrior when once upon a time; it had been her dream to become that very same dragon warrior. Tigress could almost laugh at how fate had treated her and what was worse, she didn't know if this was a lowering on her position or not. She had aimed big once and now she had to stay with second best.

"Tigress," she heard Po's voice from outside her door. "Are you alright?"

Tigress didn't remove her eyes from her palm as she replied, "Yes Po, I'm fine."

She heard the door slid open and sighed. Po wouldn't be kept out even if she wanted him to.

"I just wanted to make sure…" said Po wandering inside the room.

"It was just a few scratches Po," said Tigress turning to the panda. "I've had worse."

Po played with his fingers. His gaze cast to the floor. Tigress could feel how uncomfortable the panda was, however he didn't move from his spot.

"Is…everything okay…Po?" she asked slowly to try and not overwhelm him.

Po's head sprung up to meet hers, "Me? I'm fine. I don't know what you're talking about. It's you I'm worried since you know the fight and all…"

Tigress kept her stoic expression making Po squirm uncomfortably. The panda swallowed as he continued to stare at the tiger's eyes before he dropped on his knees.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen! I shouldn't have done this contest! I mean I wanted my dads to feel comfortable…But I didn't mean to drag you down! I'm sorry Ti! I seriously didn't know you were going to get marked!"

"Po!" yelled Tigress silencing Po's rant. "It's fine," she said.

Po stared at her unable to process, "Are you sure?"

Tigress nodded, "I'm fine. It's fine. I…I actually was thinking what it would be of me after the tournament but now…I have a fighting chance."

Po frowned, "What?"

"Po the Jade Palace is my home," said Tigress.

Po eyes widen as realization hit him. By choosing to have a bride he was kicking Tigress out of the Jade Palace, or so she must have felt. He hadn't thought about that option as he chose, he had only decided for his fathers.

"Tigress I'm…" Tigress stopped Po by raising her paw.

"I said I am fine," she said. "Besides you'd probably share the biggest bedroom with your wife."

"And now you can be it…" mumbled Po. "Ti I…"

Tigress silenced him again, "It's dinner time Po."

Po swallowed and nodded, "I'll go…I'll go and get everything ready."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

At dinner everyone sat in the table. No one said a word and the awkwardness of everything made it hard to even breathe. The last to arrive was Tigress. Quietly she took her seat and stared at the rest.

"Are you feeling better master Tigress?" asked Shifu.

Tigress turned to him, "Yes master Shifu, I am well."

Shifu nodded, "Good. I suspected we would have to cancel the tournament."

"Not at all master," replied Tigress.

Silence fell once more and it drove on for what felt like ages. Suddenly Shifu turned to Tigress and opened his mouth but no words came out. Tigress slightly frowned.

"Master, are you alright?" asked the tiger master.

Startled Shifu turned back to the table, "Just wanted to make sure you were well."

"Yes master," replied the tiger.

Awkwardness fell on the table once more. No one said a word as the servants passed the plates around the table and the main course meal. Tùzǐ walked behind them, cleaning her paws on her apron. Once she reached the area she mentioned the prepared course and for them to have a good meal.

"Aren't you joining us?" asked Nyx from her seat.

Tùzǐ sighed, "I guess so."

"If you don't like it you don't have to," said Shifu.

Tùzǐ took that as her cue and left.

"Weird bunny rabbit," said Nyx taking her first bite. "But she sure can cook."

"Don't talk about her like that," said Lu-Shi. "It's not nice."

Nyx turned to the goat, "What?"

"You don't have to treat her like that," said Lu-Shi.

"I'm not saying lies," said Nyx. "She is a weird bunny. We all know kung fu or the basics of kung fu, and then there's bunny girl."

"That doesn't mean she can't fight," said Lu-Shi.

"It also doesn't mean you have to be at my face about my opinions," spit Nyx.

" _I came from Japan, to see a cat fight,"_ spoke Zak with a monotone voice. _"Hurray."_

"Zak," scolded Karasu.

Nyx turned to him, "Hey tiger boy, didn't anyone tell you it was rude to speak about people to their faces."

Zak rolled his eyes, "Yes, the same place, I assume you were taught to call people with odd names."

Nyx stood and so did Zak, "I'm not scared of you."

"You should be," growled Zak.

" _Zak stop it,"_ said Karasu. "Let him be, he can be horrible with people sometimes."

Zak backed away and took his seat as Nyx watched with a frown. She sat down and returned to her meal.

"Oh boy," said Mantis. "This entire thing might be more than what we can handle."

Monkey nodded, "By the way have you seen Gāoguì?"

"Not since the fight," said Mantis.

"Poor girl must be devastated," said Viper.

"Why? Tigress kicked the butt of that frog that wanted to take over the mark," said Mantis. "If anything she should be grateful."

"But she got exposed in the process," said Crane. "I would feel discouraged too if my family secret suddenly got out to the public. Not only that, but Po took Shen out. That would mean she is fighting for the hand of the man that killed her cousin."

"Awkward," said Mantis.

The five agreed.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Gāoguì leaned back on the peach tree starring into the distance. Her feathers played absent minded with a feather shaped piece of metal. She massaged its surface with a careful wing, however as her mind turned over to that morning. How easily she had been manipulated to Duyao's bidding and how much she hated it. How now everyone knew about her relation with that mad peacock. Her grip tightened around the feather the more she thought about it. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair.

"Ouch," she said noticing she cut her wing with the feather.

Gāoguì sighed and hid the knife with the others as she tunred back to take care of her wound.

"You don't have to go back to the palace for that," interrupted a voice.

Gāoguì raised her gaze to face Po. Her eyes widen at his presence and she was quick to bow.

"Dragon warrior," she said with all the grace she could muster after being taken by surprise.

Po walked up to her and sat near her. He picked her wing and carefully inspected it. It wasn't a big cut, actually it already started healing.

"You don't really need to get medical attention," said Po lowering her wing.

Gāoguì took her wing back and gently placed it on her chest.

"What are you…" she asked.

Po chuckled, "I came to apologize. I guess that's all I do today."

Gāoguì blinked, "Whatever for, dragon warrior?"

Po sighed, "I guess for…destroying your cousin."

Gāoguì lowered her gaze, "Shen was nothing but a monster, and ungrateful monster. He had everything he could ever yearn for, why would he want to give up all that for some silly childhood fantasy."

Po stared at her noticing how her voice increased with each word, "You think childhood dreams are silly?"

Gāoguì stared at Po, "Well I do not dragon warrior, however I do find it scandalous that he, after such a long time, kept firm of his decision instead of abiding the traditions of our family. He was to be emperor, yet he decided to turn his back on that and focus on silly children dreams. I grew out of them, why couldn't he?"

Po raised a brow, "Well I had a childhood dream and look at me, I became the dragon warrior."

Gāoguì turned away from Po, "Not everyone can come and go from greatness like you. Born from a common household to be the greatest fighter in China with a humble heart and noble spirit, Shen decided to abandon everything to become what he became."

Po frowned at her, "He made his decision…"

"And thus condemned the rest of our family!" yelled Gāoguì. "He has no idea how much we have struggled to keep from falling apart ever since he decided to try and conquer China! How many suitors turned me down because of his foolishness and ridiculous antics? To some extent I am glad that he is gone, but with him any sense of pride of our family fled, leaving us a mere shell of what we used to be!"

Po watched the peahen rant about her cousin in silence. Once the rant ended and silence fell on the duo, Gāoguì was exhausted. Her form slumped as if a giant burden had been lifted from her back. Slowly she turned to meet eyes with Po, who smiled at her.

"Done?" he asked.

Gāoguì swallowed and kept starring at his jade eyes. However her eyes widen and she turned to stare at the ground, "I am sorry dragon warrior. I didn't mean to…"

Po chuckled, "And here I thought I was going to be the one doing all the apologizing today."

Gāoguì smiled and turned to Po, "I guess it's a surprise still."

"It's still the present isn't it?" said Po smiling also.

"Anything can still happen," said Gāoguì letting out a few giggles.

Po joined her giggles that turned into fits of laughter in the dark veil of the night. Their joined voices being carried over by the night wind to disappear in the distance.

Once the laugh died down Gāoguì turned to Po, "How will the others react?"

Po's laugh died down and he turned to Gāoguì, "Let me take care of that, as for us, I believe we should be heading back. We don't want to be out so late."

Gāoguì nodded and bowed, "As you wish dragon warrior."

Po scratched the back of his neck unsure on how to react to the sudden change in demeanor of the peahen.

"Hey no need to do that," said Po allowing Gāoguì to stand back. "Let me tell you more, I'll personally escort you back to your room. That way I'll know you make it safe back and that no one disturbs you once you're in your room."

Gāoguì nodded, "Greatly appreciate the gesture dragon warrior."

Po stretched his paw for the peahen and they both made their way back to the quarters of the Blossoms.

 **Do i get more Gao love? *wears shirt with pride* i seriously like Gao...yes the fact that i made her along with my friends influences my judgement. however i think she is one of the deeper characters in the tournament. also i am forming teams on who votes for who, i know most of you guys already go for Ti but i wished the other got more love. i love Ti but i seiously like Tuzi for Po. she's cute, smoll, and knows how to cook. i think she's cute for Po...*thinks on the process of making the whole thing and how the list seemed endless at one point* well i cheer for every one of these girls.**

 **Anyway ciao and see you guys nxt update that'll set up our next two contenders.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hola...miss me? well i actually had a problem with this chapter and well...i've been kinda distracted *cough*bingewatchingdannyphantom*cough* also if you didn't know, i'm working on this fanfiction and another one called Pop idol SheZow and i wanted to update both at the same time considering how hard these chapters have been. I seriously thought it would be easier but this chapter was finished thurday after a stroke of genius and three re-writes. the SheZow one has had over five entire rewrites and those chapters are longer than these ones. my stroke of genius for this chapter actually came after rethinking to my wattpad page that has been gathering dust since i discovered fanfiction and as i rewatched the titles on the popular pages i remembered a recurring theme...THE BALL. yeah that little thing that girls do because EVERY GIRL JUST LOVES TO DRESS UP IN BEAUTIFUL GOWNS AND MEET THEIR PRINCE CHARMING IN THE MOONLIGHT *note sarcasm :/* so i decided to implement that now since i was gonna do it anyway. i'm still looking for that cooking competition ppl have asked me for xD**

 **a todos esos que me dejan reviews en espa~ol, besos. Es genial ver sus reviews com no tienen idea. mi primer idioma es espa~ol PERO mis notas/calificaciones en espa~ol nunca fueron las mejores...i cuando tome mi primer libro a leer era en ingles asi que me quede con eso pega'o xD lamento no poderles brindar este fic en espa~ol pero los tengo en el corazon *-***

 **on with el capitulo...y my spanglish kicked in :/**

The next morning, the noise of the gong vibrated through the Valley of Peace waking up its inhabitants. Inside the Jade Palace's barracks, the furious five immediately woke up and got in position, in front of their rooms, to greet their master alongside the sun's first rays. However as they stepped into the hall ready to begin their day, their master was nowhere to be seen.

Trailing their eyes to the room, the five silently signaled Tigress to find out what was keeping their master. Tigress sighed and walked over to Po's room opening the door to be greeted with an empty space. Tigress frowned at this development since Po usually slept until late, but closed the door and turned to the furious five.

"He's not in," she said making their eyes widen.

"But Po is always in," says Monkey moving over to where Tigress is, along with the others.

After staring inside the room and seeing it empty, Mantis and Monkey look at each other and rush to the kitchen. The others watched as Monkey and Mantis disappeared down the stairs, before deciding to follow the duo into the kitchen in the Jade Palace. If Po wasn't in his room he had to be inside the kitchen making breakfast or eating all of the food. Considering the amount of stress around the palace as of late, the duo must have pieced together that the panda might be eating as a medium to cope with what was happening to him.

However this wasn't the case, as the five reached the kitchen area they were surprised to not encounter the panda inside. What they did encounter was a small rabbit chopping away breakfast. Throwing vegetables in the air and slicing them before they touched the table. Taking spices from shelves with ease and throwing them in the air making them land perfectly inside their respective bowl. The kitchen was silent as they watched her use chopsticks as lethal machines on each and every piece of food in the near vicinity.

The five couldn't simply believe what they were seeing.

"Tùzǐ?" said Monkey breaking the spell the rabbit was making her fall in the process.

Picking herself up, Tùzǐ turned to the furious five before brushing her apron hastily and bowing, "Good morning masters. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"But…she was…" stuttered Mantis his eyes still fixed on different point in the kitchen.

Tùzǐ turned her head slightly making her ear brush a spice container. The container fell but Tùzǐ was quick to pick it and place it back. Mantis jaw dropped.

"If you'd please, breakfast will be served shortly," the rabbit said turning to her pot.

"Have you seen Po?" asked Tigress not moving from her spot.

The rabbit turned to the five with a frown in her face, "I thought the dragon warrior was asleep. I had to beat him here to cook several times already, so I always end up getting up extra early."

Tigress frowned but bowed, "We'll await breakfast in the table."

Tùzǐ bowed back and turned to her duties.

"Was it me or that bunny was flying?" asked Mantis once they were far off.

"This is weirder than when we found out how Shifu trained Po," said Monkey.

"But she was a blur," said Mantis still unable to believe it.

"With weapons she would be deadly," commented Crane. "Perhaps that's why she was chosen?"

"It's not surprise," said Viper. "Most of the contestants know to some level kung fu."

"But Tùzǐ is not aware of what she's doing," murmured Tigress.

The five remained silent until they entered the dining room and sat down.

"True, but she is still going to have to fight one of you eventually for Po's hand," mentioned Viper.

Tigress looked down at her paw and sighed.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po arrived later to the meal than expected. It was nearly over when he managed to come back.

"Dragon warrior," said Shifu. "You nearly missed your meal."

Po looked at the table and the blossoms before bowing, "Thank you but I'm going to have to refuse."

Behind the panda a green peahen made her way to the dining room, a picnic basket held in between her wings.

"Gāoguì and I ended having breakfast out in the peach tree," said Po.

Shifu nodded and finished his tea, whereas several brows raised and scowls were given in the panda's general direction.

"Thank you for having the meal with me dragon warrior," said the peahen blushing.

Po smiled, "It was my pleasure. That was the most impressive meal I've had in a while."

Gāoguì blushed and turned.

The air around the area tensed making everyone not directly involve with the tournament flinch slightly, that was however not the case for Shifu. The red panda took his tea cup and placed it on the table before turning to the couple.

"Good to see you're getting along with the contestants dragon warrior," he said to the giant panda.

Po chuckled, "Well it wasn't that hard, I mean Gāo is quite interesting to hear. She's done so many cool stuff. She can speak in three languages, knows kung fu, has detailed practice in cooking and…"

"Po!" said Gāoguì blushing. Noticing her mistake however she cleared her throat and regain a solemn stance. "Dragon warrior, your flattery is…heartwarming."

Po laughed and slightly turned to her, "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

However Gāoguì blushed and played with the basket in her hands, "Thank you dragon warrior."

Shifu nodded and gestured to the pair, "As you know we finally have the blossoms all together in one place. It's time to make the entrance ceremony to introduce them to the valley."

Ears perked at this, easily said, Crane was the first to perk his head and excitement to fill his eyes, "Master Shifu."

"Of course I promised this to be an event Crane could manage," said the red panda gesturing the avian. "However I do expect the blossoms to show in their best garments for the introduction."

"Wait is this going to be a fashion show?" asked Nyx frowning.

Shifu sighed, "It's just an introduction; however it's highly advisable for you to be deemed presentable in terms of the event's roots. This is a mayor event not just for the Valley but for China. One of you will become the bride of the most powerful warrior in China…also Po I want you dressed and bathe for the event."

Po crossed his arms and scoffed, "Way ahead of you."

Shifu raised a brow but didn't have to ask anything as Mr. Ping and Li walked to the dining room.

"My dads already have everything settled," said Po. "They even have me bathe every day."

Mr. Ping licked his wing before reaching to clean Po's neat cheek. Meanwhile Li adjusted Po's pants. "We understand the depth of this event master Shifu."

"Hence we made arrangements for lil Lotus while he arranged the first events," said Li pulling a little too much at Po's pants.

"Our lil boy has everything he'll need," said Mr. Ping slightly bumping on Gāoguì. "Oh sorry dear."

Gāoguì bowed, "It's okay father."

Mr. Ping gasped and winged himself to try and contain tears, "I've dreamt for those words."

"Okay," said Po. "I'll just go and…"

Li pulled Po towards the other side of the dining room, "Oh no lil Lotus, we're going to take you home until the day of the event and get you ready."

"But dad…"

"No buts Po," argued Mr. Ping. "That way you can be shocked when you re-meet these beautiful ladies."

A chortle broke through the dining room, coming from a brown goat, "Thank you Mr. Ping."

Shifu eyed the scene before sighing, "Well I'll leave everything in your hands Crane. As for the rest of you I suggest you get ready for tomorrow."

And with those words the red panda master left to begin his meditating.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Back in their own, the blossoms all fought quite the battle on their own. Song was the one in the tightest spot, for as soon as she was out of the dining room, the ladies had dragged her to their room to begin the debate on what to use the next day. Add the enormous piles of different clothes and possible make-up Song had more than a little battle in her hands.

Gāoguì had turned to her room to look for money to get some fabric to create her dress. She had millions of beautiful dresses with tiny details and made of exported fabrics. However the peahen wanted something more, a piece that detailed her own personal feeling and touches. Thus she got ready, head down to the village and began to work.

Karasu turned to her room and dug in her belongings and gestured them to Zak.

"Yukata, Kimono, or Qipao?"

The black tiger not noticing the difference shrugged making his childhood friend sigh.

Nyx was another with easy item to her access. She dug into her things taking out a silver one piece qipao. Black thread traced delicate patterns around it that piled at the end of the garment. Nyx traced the patterns and lowered the garment on the bed before picking it up once more and hiding it for tomorrow.

Tùzǐ was the least invested in the entire endeavor, as Wo fussed around her about several pieces that his daughter could use, each more revealing that the other. Tùzǐ lowered her gaze and simply just told him, "I want to use grandma's dress." Wo stopped his rambling and turned to his daughter with a shocked expression.

"But that's such an old dress," he said, his arm falling after his daughter's statement.

However Tùzǐ simply smiled and walked to the kitchen.

Tigress was another that was fussed about, but by her friend Viper.

"What's this?" asked Viper taking an old torn garment from Tigress' belongings.

"An old uniform," replied the tiger.

Viper sighed, "Do you have anything here that's not for fighting?"

Tigress looked at her yellow tunic then to her old training suits, "No."

Viper sighed, she had a ton of work to do.

As all these events happened together there was one of the contestants that had a different set of problems.

Lu-Shi watched her clothes picking the garment she had once used to wed the dragon warrior. Back then she had been under the need to do it given the circumstances, however she now had the opportunity to fix her past mistake and make something new. She wondered how Po would react to her wearing this garment.

"I hope you aren't thinking on wearing that," said her brother Shao.

Lu-Shi turned to him, "Why not? Is my best dress."

"Well…" said Shao. "You did lead him to a trap using that same dress. He really liked you and you broke his heart."

Lu-Shi sighed and dropped the dress, "I'd thought this be easier."

"It isn't?"

"These are kung fu masters," replied the brown goat. "How am I going to battle that?"

Shao thought about it, "It's still the first round sis, you'll work it out."

Lu-Shi lowered her gaze to her dress, "I'll have to make something new."

"That's the spirit," said Shao. "Besides you know Po even before all this, you have an advantage."

Lu-Shi raised her head feeling more confident than before, "You're right Shao, now we need to work something for the dress."

Shao turned to the dress and shrugged, "Can't you fix it to make it look different?"

Lu-Shi scratched her head, "My passion is kung fu not…clothes."

"Take it to a seamstress?"

Both of them tapped their mouth with their hooves as they stared at the dress unsure of how to deal with the dress or even what to do with it.

"Seamstress it is," they both finally said taking the dress and rushing out of the palace.


	12. Chapter 12

**HELLO THERE! miss me? I am BACK from the dead and feeling the hype. Halloween amirite? anyway i am DEAD literally this chapter is horrible. i spend two days looking for Chinese stuff to put in it and i STILL think i didn't understand or i might come off as racist or insulting to Chinese everywhere...That was not my intention. i want to thank someone who helped me during the creation of this chapter**

 **3431jess**

 **thank you so much and if anything is wrong or weird it was entirely my fault anyway enjoy this...chapter the best that you can. Po and his fathers' are my fav part.**

"Good morning China and citizens of the Valley of Peace. Welcome to the OFFICIAL introduction of the blossoms in the Jade Palace," said a wolf from one neatly made room.

"That's right Láng," mentioned his companion, a small pig dressed exactly like the wolf. "Today is quite the exciting day as we get to view the prospects of the dragon warrior for the first time since the chosen entered the Jade Palace the past week."

"You saw some of them already Péigēn," said the wolf turning to his partner. "Do you have a favorite?"

The pig shook his head, "Not yet Láng, I wanted to wait until this moment, to get a clear view of the contestants and finally make my decision."

Láng nodded and turned to the ceremonial yard as files of people made their way into it. Merchants sold figures of the known contestants, food or just trinkets for the little ones as they waited to introduction of the blossoms. Crane had out done himself in terms of decorations even going as far as making a separate room for the previous mentioned announcers.

The Ceremonial Yard shinned with the sun's rays. Golden dragons decorated along the sides and rows of lanterns dangled from the open space in the yard and sides. The stage was polished and cleared to allow better view of the contestants to the gathering public. The back of the stage held a large and heavily decorated lattice, with seven different types of flowers and in between them several dragons formed a pattern as if it was taking care of them. This was where the blossoms would present themselves to the thick crowd.

"Well I have to say Láng," said the pig to his wolf partner. "This is one massive event in a masterfully setting and I just can't wait for it to start."

"Me neither Péigēn," said Láng. "But I guess the most excited of them all has to be the dragon warrior who'll get to see his possible future wives all in one place at the same time, in their best garments."

Péigēn nodded, "In that you're right Láng, I wonder if he already has a clear vision of who he wants?"

"Po! You aren't even up yet!" screamed Mr. Ping startling Li who turned to the noise.

"Is everything alright Ping?" asked the older giant panda cleaning his paws.

"Po is still sleeping! Get up Po, you'll be late for your own ceremony!" said Ping trying to pull the panda from his deep sleep.

However, Po just turned to the side and curled further on his body, "Five more minutes dad."

"Po you haven't even showered yet!" said Ping dodging a kick from his son.

"I'll go to school later," mumbled Po.

"Li! Help me get Po out of bed!" yelled Ping rolling his sleeves up and waddling towards Po.

Soon he was joined by the giant panda and instantly both got to work.

Li and Ping grabbed Po and pulled him away from the bed. The quick pull was enough to startle the young panda, who sat up with a jolt and got in his kung fu stand.

"What is it? Where's the trouble? Woah!"

"No time for crazy antics," said Mr. Ping as he pulled Po to the back.

"We are late lil Lotus," said Li as he watched Po being thrown into the bath.

"Ouch, watch it dad," said Po massaging his head.

"No, watch it nothing," growled Ping. "We're already late for dressing you Po."

"I…what? Wait. Dad…" whined Po as Mr. Ping scrubbed his back.

"No dad, nothing," said Ping. "Li get everything ready so Po can be at the Palace in time."

Li patted Po's head before quickly heading inside the shop to get everything Po needed for the big day. However it wasn't until he was being rushed up the thousands steps as his fathers dressed him that Po's mind finally focused on what was happening today. The Valley got to meet the girls and him for the first time, not only that but he had no idea of the transformations they would give. Not that it mattered; Po wasn't one to ogle much. He liked all the contestants but this was a big step for them and him. What if the valley didn't like one of them…or him for that matter?

Shaking his head he finished tying his robe and rushed to the back of the palace to get a proper presentation followed closely by his fathers.

…

"This is an excellent day to have such an important event Péigēn," said Láng to his pig companion.

"That is right folks the sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, the weather is nice and cool and here comes master Shifu to start the presentations," said Péigēn leaning on his room to get a better glimpse of the red panda master as he made his way to the center of the stage.

The crowd grew silent as Shifu stood in the center. Not even the small ones let out a breath at the red panda's solid gaze.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace," he started. "As you all know the dragon warrior has made his mind over choosing a bride. For this, we gather today. To gaze at the seven contestants that will fight for the hand of the dragon warrior until one comes victorious in not only winning the tournament, but also to come first in the dragon warrior's heart.

Today we shall see seven beautiful women. In the end only one of them shall become the lady of the dragon warrior. Alongside me, are the furious five and the Jade Palace staff to welcome the blossoms and wish them the best of luck, now without further ado, the furious five."

At Shifu's notice the palace doors burst open and the furious five -minus Tigress- stepped out. The five bowed to the crowd and the staff members and families of the blossoms walked down the stairs and gathered along edges depending on their closeness to the blossoms or rank in the Jade Palace's staff.

"That is quite the entrance Láng."

"Certainly it is Péigēn; quite the entrance indeed."

With everyone in position Shifu slightly turned to the five where he saw Crane give him a small nod. Understanding Shifu regained his form and directed his voice to the Valley.

"Introducing first, the savior of China, the one and only dragon warrior."

The crowd cheered as from the doors of the Jade Palace Po –the dragon warrior- stepped to greet the citizens. He was followed closely by his fathers who were dressed as formally as possible considering their different backgrounds. Po had a silver robe tied around the middle with a white and black sash. The robe held dark grey designs of dragons running along the edges and up towards his sleeves. He even got a new pair of pants specially made for him the same gray color as his robe, with dark gray along the edges of the robe.

Ping had his nicest vest on. Instead of being red it was burgundy and he wasn't wearing his hat. Which was a new one to Po. Li on the other hand had his green vest and brown pants. Apparently that was used in the panda village for major events. Po guessed they must not be big on events.

Once they reached the main stage the crowd gave them a bow in greeting along with the rest of the present. Ping and Li stood next to the five and Po walked over to Shifu who eyed him carefully before chuckling under his breath.

"You cleaned up," he whispered to the dragon warrior.

Po rolled his eyes, "I can clean up good."

"You're missing something," said Shifu. "Your attire is only half complete."

"You wanted me to suffocate?" said Po. "I had to cut something, like the cape and headdress."

"You're nervous," stated Shifu.

"I'm surprised you aren't."

Shifu chuckled as the crowd stood once more, "I am not the one getting married."

Before Po could reply Shifu was directing himself to the crowd once more, "Now unto our contestants. Citizens of the valley of Peace and China I give to you the blossom and leader of the Ladies of the Shade, Song."

The ladies of the Shade appeared on the door hiding behind their parasols. The parasols spun around before they scattered to reveal Song.

Her shy gaze lifted to meet eyes with Po who swallowed hard noticing for the first time the depth of his problem. Song had a simple _Ruqun_ on. Her blouse and skirt red in color while the sash around her was a brown color. Small decorations in gold ran along the lines of her sash and several hanging adornments consisting on small jewels hung in red thread. Her usual parasol also was changed to a plain red to bright red with semi transparent designs that allowed the sun rays to filter in and give her a mysterious and feminine glow.

"Greetings dragon warrior," she said as she reached Po's side.

The panda bowed to her and raised his paw as her rose. Song followed suit allowing both their paws to glow and the crowd to cheer.

Song then turned to the crowd and bowed before walking to her position in front of the lattice.

"Next blossom comes to us from a far of province; smallest daughter to the lord of the current lord of Gongmen city, Gāoguì."

The doors opened once more to reveal the royal peahen and Po wasn't any less of struck by the change. He had seen Gāoguì in formal wear, heck she had arrived in one of her best garments but this…

Gāoguì arrived wearing a Daxiushan made by hand. How did she do it Po had no idea, but she looked the entire royalty that she was supposed to represent. Her gown was composed of yellows and whites that gave her quite the feminine look. A single golden flower adorned her forehead. She bowed to the dragon warrior once she reached him.

"It's an honor to see you again dragon warrior," she said allowing her mark to be shown slightly and the glow to take place as the crowd cheered.

"Like wise Gāoguì," replied Po as the peahen joined Song.

"Next blossom," mentioned Shifu. "She has come from across the sea to this event. Only daughter of the chief of the Raven clan in Japan, Karasu."

The doors opened once more to show the black tiger step towards the stairs. This time Po's eyes weren't the only ones that caught sight of the feline, however the set of eyes averted as soon as she walked pass him to stand in front of her possible future husband. He set his expression as neutral as he could but he still eyed her as in her purple Furisode decorated with pink, white and red feathers and small chrysanthemum flowers.

"Dragon warrior," said Karasu showing her glowing paw to the panda.

"Karasu," said Po eying her. "You look nice."

Karasu lowered her gaze to hide her blush and made her way to the others.

"Next is quite the blossom, arriving like the night to whom she shares a name with. Without further ado, Nyx."

The doors opened to reveal the cat in her silver qipao that reached her knees with slight slits on each the side. The entire garment had black thread that made patterns around it, however they piled at each of the edges of the garment forming what one could assume was a gradient effect. She might have not be wearing nothing extremely fancy, but she had the exact effect from her previous comrades.

"You look lovely," said Po raising his paw.

Nyx scoffed but raised her paw as well, "Well dragon warrior, there's always a first time for everything."

Po reached for her paw and caressed it, "You certainly prove that today."

Nyx turned away feeling her heart beat faster, "You also do that…dragon warrior."

Po chuckled and didn't see Ping and Li giving small shoves to each other in excitement at what just happened.

Shifu cleared his throat as Nyx reached her place, "Next blossom, has history with the Jade Palace or more like her family does. Daughter to one of the best chefs in all of China and she is quickly following on his footsteps, Tùzǐ."

This time a small rabbit stepped out of the doors. Considering the nature of the event one would think she would do something extravagant as her previous comrades or at least slight decorated but Tùzǐ just done the plain. Her ensemble of _Chang-ao_ was arranged with plain light colors and no decorations at all. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she simply bowed to Po and held her paw. Po raised his and the glow took place.

"You didn't try to impress?" asked Po curious.

Tùzǐ chuckled and shook her head, "This belonged to my grandmother. She taught my father and me after he had become a master chef. I…wanted her to be with me."

Po blinked and smiled turning to the lattice before looking at her again, "Hold on a moment."

He said rushing to the lattice and getting a rose. He turned and handed it to the bunny who watched it with teary eyes.

"Simple is good sometimes," said Po. "I want to be in normal clothes again already."

Tùzǐ giggled and placed the flower on her ear, "Thank you for understanding dragon warrior."

"Next blossom has history not only in the Jade Palace, but with the Valley of Peace as well," continued Shifu. "She was once to be the bride of the dragon warrior to whom he would retire his title for, however due to the circumstances nothing was done. Now she's back with a fighting chance. Citizens of the valley of Peace I give you, Lu-Shi."

The doors opened to reveal the goat wearing a Yuanlingshan. The top part was mainly plain except for the edges that held a different color line however the under skirt hid patterns that ran all along it distributed evenly.

She reached Po's side and like before the small ritual took place. Lu-Shi's hoof shook slightly as she got in position.

"It's okay Lu-Shi," he told her. "I'm nervous too."

Lu-Shi nodded and chortled before joining the rest of the blossoms.

"Finally, our last blossom," said Shifu. "She was the last of the chosen but is nonetheless equally important as the others. You all know her, as the leader of the Furious Five, I know her as a student, but we all account her as a master, Tigress."

As murmurs erupted along the crowd, as the doors opened to allow the tiger master out. She walked down the stairs as the eyes of the astonished crowd fixed on her. The master, was she even her? Wearing a simple long green cheongsam adorned with patterns of scattered golden flowers. Her features were lined by golden dust that glittered every time the sun hit them.

She reached the dragon warrior's side, bowed and presented her mark. Po stayed frozen unsure on how to take the sight in front of him. Tigress raised a brow at his reaction but turning noticed everyone pretty much had the same expression, but it was more apparent on the people closest to her.

"Tigress?" asked Po unsure on how to take the entire thing.

Tigress crossed her arms, "Panda."

Po raised his paw and quickly Tigress did the same for their paws to glow. As soon at it finished, Tigress walked to her place.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace, I give you the seven blossoms," said Shifu as the blossoms bowed to a cheering crowd.

 **So i did my best...but i discovered that if i drag things on for descriptions i can go on for DAYS.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Great finally got light back...OMG it'll probably go again soon...anyway setting up this chapter was a pain. but finally got my inspiration for writing and by that i mean i'm finally getting to fights YAS. Enjoy and see you at the bottom notes *smoke bomb***

When Lu-Shi woke up in the Jade Palace the next morning she could barely hold in her excitement. The day before had been wonderful, the music, the dancing, the last event that involved the night sky being lit up with lanterns. From then on festivities had drove on without the Jade Palace tenants, but carried on with the citizens of the Valley of Peace.

 _It was lovely,_ she thought with a contented sigh.

Her train of thought was interrupted as the gong gave notice to the start of the day activities.

Quickly, Lu-Shi got ready and headed out.

On her way to the dining room, Lu-Shi noticed the amount of work that was being placed on the Jade Palace. The servants rushed from place to place following instructions given by…someone. Lu-Shi turned to see the giver of instructions to be none other than Tùzǐ, the little brown rabbit daughter of a chef.

"Faster, I don't want any of this to turn into a blown out murder scene," growled the bunny.

"Where do you want these dumplings?" said Po carrying several trays filled with the food.

Tùzǐ pointed and Po quickly took off, leaving the bunny to turn back in the kitchen's direction.

Later that same day, after breakfast, Lu-Shi walked around the practice yard watching the Ladies of the Shade work on a new routine.

"So you're going to do this for whom ever wins?" asked Po watching Song instruct the rest of the ladies.

Song nodded, "It's the least we could do dragon warrior. I even convinced the girls to do this even if I didn't win. You helped us so much before; this is just a small token of gratitude."

Po placed his paw on her shoulder, "Thank you Song."

"Po!" scolded Tigress. "Time to train!"

"Coming guys!" said Po composing himself. "Keep up the good work girls. Coming Tigress!"

Lu-Shi walked around the Valley of Peace when she saw Karasu and Zak looking at various artifacts from the merchants.

" _What do you think Zak?"_

Zak shrugged, _"Why should I care what you wear for the panda?"_

"You're so mean Zak," retorted Karasu. "It's for the clan, when we go back."

Zak's eyes widen, _"We're going back home?"_

"Of course we are silly," said Karasu. "If I win the tournament, I'll have the dragon warrior by my side. The souvenirs were Po's idea. He thinks it'll be a nice gesture."

Zak's posture dropped once more as he rolled his eyes, "Sure thing. Why not?"

"So pick one?" said Karasu.

Zak didn't look and pointed at something at random, "That."

Karasu growled, "You didn't even look!"

Zak sighed and turned to the table to get a better look at what was on display all the while either Karasu or the merchant explained.

Lu-Shi continued wandering over the stores when she found Gāoguì starring at some fabrics. The peahen was in deep conversation with the merchant as she discussed some properties of the fabric.

"It's quite resistant," said the merchant. "And it cleans easy."

Gāoguì nodded and massaged the fabric and nodded more approvingly, "I see that."

"I also got the fabric you asked for yesterday," said the merchant digging in his stuff, before pulling out a piece of black fabric. "It was quite hard to find, but I did tell you I could get it before the week was out."

Gāoguì took the piece and paid for it, "Thank you. Can I also have some of that you just showed me?"

"Sure thing. How much?" replied the merchant.

"How big would it be to fit a panda?" asked Gāoguì.

"Another robe?" he asked cutting the fabric and folding it.

Gāoguì shook her head, "This one is for another surprise."

The merchant leaned in a wiggled his eyebrows. Gāoguì shook her head and took her fabric before turning. Suddenly she stopped and turned back. "Can I get references on the area so I can find the freshest food?"

The merchant laughed, but got to explain how to get there.

On the other hand, Lu-Shi walked pass them and towards the Jade Palace. As she reached the double doors to the Hall of Heroes –a place she couldn't stop visiting since she got to the palace- the doors suddenly burst open and two laughing figures dropped on the floor.

"That was awesome!" said Po taking deep breaths.

"I know," replied Nyx turning on her back. "I'll never waver on your wise words dragon warrior."

Po sat on his knees and stared at the downed Nyx, "Want to hear another wise word?"

"Panda!" yelled Shifu making the duo turn towards the hall.

"Run!" said Po taking her hand and rushing out of the way.

Shifu ran through the double doors carrying what seemed to be several tiny helmets on his paws. His angry expression grew further as he couldn't make out Po anywhere in the premises. Instead he turned and started yelling orders to the servants of the Jade Palace to fix the hall 'again'.

Lu-Shi stayed in place making sense to what she saw, not coming to any conclusion she just turned and headed to her chambers. Once inside she silently walked over to her futon and sat.

"What's wrong Lu?"

Startled, Lu-Shi turned and punched her brother.

"Ouch!" said Shao massaging his nose.

"Sorry Shao," said Lu-Shi hurrying to help him.

Shao gestured for her to stop, "I'm fine."

"Don't surprise me that way," said Lu-Shi sitting once more.

Shao nodded, "I should know. Anyway why are you here so early?"

Lu-Shi sighed and dropped on the futon to stare at the ceiling, "This morning I woke up and everything was so nice. Yesterday was so magical and pretty. Now I don't know anymore Shao."

Shao raised a brow at his sister but said nothing allowing Lu-Shi to continue.

"This morning during breakfast Po was with Tùzǐ, then he was with Song, Tigress and…I haven't interacted with him since I got to the Jade Palace."

Shao blinked, "Well why not try and get his attention?"

Lu-Shi groaned, "It's not that simple."

"Why not?" That girl Song tried to steal something from the Jade Palace and you said he took time with her. Why are you so different?"

"Because I broke his heart!" said Lu-Shi. "He trusted me; he was going to leave everything for me…for us."

Shao scratched his neck, "It doesn't hurt to try and get his attention. That was a long time ago and he no longer holds a grudge."

Lu-Shi thought for a minute before jumping, "You're right. I should go and try and earn my part again."

"There you go," Shao said but Lu-Shi was already out the door.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Tùzǐ sat on the dinner table pounding what to make for dinner. Usually she would spring into action and get cooking, but right now she wanted to work something out. Po walked on her and blinked unsure of what to do, but the dragon warrior simply walked up to her.

"Tùzǐ what's wrong?" he asked.

Tùzǐ sighed and dropped her head on the table, "I have no idea what to cook."

Po laughed, "That's it? Just make something I'm sure everyone will appreciate it."

Tùzǐ turned slightly towards the dragon warrior, "Po I'm a chef, not a simple cook. I know you'll probably eat anything I cook but the others…"

"Will also eat anything you cook," said Po. "It's probably amazing."

Tùzǐ groaned, to which Po rubbed her back.

"How about mixing it up?" he said carefully.

Tùzǐ's ears perked and turned to him, "Explain."

Po shrugged, "You can mix it up…make something new but old at the same time?"

Tùzǐ raised her head as if all the stars in the universe had aligned for that one precise moment.

"I got it!" she said jumping from the chair. "I better get cooking."

Po chuckled as she disappeared but turned when he heard her voice once more, "Where do you think you're going? You are going to help me, so put your apron and come on."

Po sighed and rushed to the kitchen with the little bunny.

Po had to admit that spending time with Tùzǐ was an entire experience all by itself. No matter how many times he worked alongside her, he was still baffled by the amount of work she got done in such a small span of time. She literally flew around the kitchen mincing and chopping her way with a precision that startled the dragon warrior. He still managed to not get in her way and vice versa, which added to the sense of awe in the dragon warrior.

" Po!" interrupted Lu-Shi running into the kitchen.

"Woah there Lu-Shi," said Po picking a knife and chopping some vegetables. "What's up?"

The goat fiddled with her hooves and watched as the dragon warrior and the bunny moved around the kitchen without breaking a sweat or interrupting the other's work. This made Lu-Shi very nervous. Unsure on how to react she turned and rushed out of the kitchen leaving a confused Po and Tùzǐ behind.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Tùzǐ cleaned her paws on her apron as she walked out of the Jade Palace later that same day. She had just finished cooking and things were setting to the proper dinner event. However something else caught her attention. Small sobs broke through the night making Tùzǐ curious about them.

Silently, she walked over to them and noticed Lu-Shi on the top of the stairs. Her shoulders shook slightly as small sobs left her lips. Tùzǐ's brows frowned. What happened? Had she been here all the time?

"Lu-Shi?" she asked the goat.

The startled goat jumped and got in position to fight. Acknowledging Tùzǐ, Lu-Shi dropped her stance.

"Don't surprise me," said the goat turning to seat once more.

"You've been crying," said Tùzǐ closing to the goat.

Lu-Shi cleaned her cheeks as best as she could, "No, I just…like the night."

Tùzǐ stopped and turned to the sky to see the thousand tiny lights that glowed in the night. Sure it was a pretty night, until a sudden gust of wind shook her to the core.

"A little chilly isn't it?" she told Lu-Shi.

Lu-Shi didn't reply instead continued to stare into the Valley of Peace.

"Why don't you come back in? Po and I made Wonton soup…" suggested Tùzǐ.

Lu-Shi turned to Tùzǐ and stood. She cleaned her robe and faced Tùzǐ who blinked at the goat.

"How?"

Tùzǐ blinked unsure of what was happening, but didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"You and Po just took off so well. You have no history with him, yet you manage to cook as one. It's so…"

Tùzǐ frowned, "Well Po has experience in the kitchen and…"

"That's not it! I was going to be his wife! Yet I have spent less time with him than any of you. Even Nyx got time with him, but where is Lu-Shi? Walking around with her arms empty."

Tùzǐ swallowed, "Lu-Shi I get why you're mad but, you can just speak to Po about this."

"He's always busy with you!" shouted Lu-Shi. "He's always rushing places with you. How can I just waltz in and get his…"

Lu-Shi turned to Tùzǐ making the bunny shiver.

"Of course," whispered the goat.

Slowly she raised her hoof towards Tùzǐ.

"Tùzǐ, I challenge you for the hand of the dragon warrior," chanted the goat.

Unable to stop herself, Tùzǐ raised her paw and met with Lu-Shi's. Both marks started glowing before turning into a slight red color.

The doors of the Palace suddenly burst open revealing the tenants of the Jade Palace rushing out. However one in particular was easier to spot.

"Tùzǐ!" yelled Wo Hop rushing to the side of his daughter.

Lu-Shi eyed them both before watching her own brother rush to her side.

"Lu-Shi what happened?" asked Shao taking her shoulders.

But Lu-Shi was too stunned by her behavior to reply. Instead her eyes stayed glued to Tùzǐ who was shaking slightly and staring at her from over her father's shoulder.

"I'm…I'm…"

But Tùzǐ didn't hear it, she and Wo hopped along towards their room without turning back.

 **Hello there my Steves! Yes, Fight! And that means votes! We got two fighters now Tuzi and Lu-Shi and I'm keeping my part. This fight will be a pain cos I haven't seen much support for these characters so...vote for you favorite?**

 **Votes end Friday next week and then the new chapter will come revealing our winner!**


	14. Chapter 14

**wow would you look at that...i ain't dead 0.0 BIG shout to our new followers. HEY GUYS...watz up B) now back to business...**

 **I AM ANNOYED =3= disappointed that i didn't even want to update. I have simple rules, SIMPLE! RULES! and last chapter someone wrote tigress. TIGRESS ISN"T EVEN FIGHTING. please stick to the fighters at hand and refrain from voting for the others. votes and support for a specific character i don't mind but just writing tigress in an entry doesn't count. hence next fight tigress will have a disadvantage. idk what it'll be but something has to happen. aunque...tigress isn't fighting the next fights so... let's see how that goes.**

 **Anyway TO THE STORY!**

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

The intense sound of metal against wood vibrated through the kitchen, making it the only noise that could be heard through the endless halls of the Jade Palace at the early hours in the morning. Tùzǐ continued chopping until she reached for a new vegetable, but came back empty handed. Gasping for air, perspiration running down her cheeks, Tùzǐ threw the knife against the cutting board making the knife dig into the wooden surface.

"Tùzǐ?" whispered Wo from the door frame watching his daughter. "You got up early."

"I didn't sleep," said the bunny staring at the mountain of chopped vegetables.

Wo carefully walked inside the kitchen pulling his robe tighter around his round belly, "Tùzǐ, I know this may be hard…"

Tùzǐ chuckled harshly.

"And this is a hard moment," continued Wo staring intensely at his daughter. "But we'll figure something out."

Tùzǐ took a deep breath as she opened her palm exposing the red blossom mark, "Lu-Shi was to marry the dragon warrior you know. He was going to renounce to his position for her. I heard they spent much time together, and share many things, from hobbies to food. How can I fight that?"

"The contests aren't only about fighting…" intercepted Wo.

"I know baba! But how do you expect me to have some advantage when I only spent a handful of times with him?" Tùzǐ yelled. "Not to mention I know nothing of kung fu! You saw that fight between the master and Duyao, how can you expect me to compete with these other competitors?"

Wo lowered his gaze, "I thought this would be a good opportunity for…"

"I get it! I really do! But this entire thing was your idea. I did not expect such a competition."

"This is the dragon warrior," said Wo.

Tùzǐ chuckled dryly, "I should have known this was a mistake. I tried to convince you but you said I had a chance; that I could do it. Now look at me, the first blossom to get kicked out of the tournament. Sorry to be a disappointment baba."

"Tùzǐ," whispered Wo reaching his paw to his daughter.

"Get out!" growled Tùzǐ glaring at the wall in front of her.

Wo gave a step back, pulling the hand to his chest. Not knowing how else to react he simply turned and walked away from the kitchen.

Tùzǐ sighed and picked up her things to begin breakfast.

"That was a bit harsh don't you think?" said a heavy accent voice from the door.

Tùzǐ turned to meet eyes with a black tiger casually looking at where she assumed her father had walked off. She ignored him and began to prepare the pots to begin breakfast.

"In our clan our elders' words are to be always respected," said Zak.

Tùzǐ sighed and turned to him, "Oh yeah. I guess they send you to die often."

Zak turned to her and raised a brow, "He did that?"

Tùzǐ rolled her eyes and focused on making the meal. Zak stepped in and picked an apple and chewed on it as he watched the bunny prepare food. At first she was slow and methodical, but Zak frowned as at one point she started to work at a faster pace. Her arms worked on three things at the same time with quite the precision and agility. At one point he even was going to call her one something but the bunny noticed what was wrong and quickly took care of the situation. Zak found himself smiling at the bunny, and he wasn't one to compliment people.

Tùzǐ cleaned her sweat and turned to gasp and nearly dropped her fresh bash of steam buns. Zak chuckled.

"Would it kill you to remind me you're here?" said Tùzǐ placing her buns in the table.

" _Where's the fun in that?_ " he spoke in his mother tongue.

"There isn't, it's called common courtesy," replied the bunny moving back to the kitchen.

Zak's jaw fell, "You can understand me?"

Tùzǐ turned to face him, "I worked with a chef in Japan thanks to baba. He taught me some things, although I'm better at understanding it than speaking it."

Zak whistled, "Then you know your cuisine."

Tùzǐ chuckled, "I love cooking, as simple as that. I just happened to get lucky once."

"Twice I would say," mentioned Zak. "You're in the competition to win the panda."

Tùzǐ dropped her gaze, "I wouldn't call that luck…"

"Why not? He's the 'dragon warrior', most powerful fighter in all of China. Sounds like you got a good part of the deal," said Zak taking a seat and leaning back on it.

Tùzǐ took a deep breath and exhaled dramatically, "If you haven't noticed…I'm no fighter."

Zak raised a brow.

"I spend most of my time cooking and that and kung fu don't precisely go hand in hand."

Zak frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Exasperated Tùzǐ raised her arms, "Whatever I just hope this fight will happen fast and I get going to work."

"Why would you lose?"

Tùzǐ groaned, "I'm no…Woah!" Tùzǐ dodged a knife hurled her way. "What are you crazy!?"

Zak took a bite of his apple and smiled, "I don't see why'd you lose?"

"You nearly killed me," said Tùzǐ placing her paw at her chest.

" _You don't know_ ," whispered Zak.

"Know what? That you nearly killed me?" yelled Tùzǐ.

" _That you technically are a master in kung fu_ ," said Zak.

Tùzǐ turned to him before bursting into fits of laughter, "Me? You're very funny!"

Zak finished his apple and walked up to the bunny. Tùzǐ continued laughing until she noticed the towering shadow of Zak; however it took more time to get her to finally stop laughing hysterically and turn to Zak.

"You're serious?" she asked watching his un-amused expression.

"Of course I am. My clan takes these kinds of things seriously," he said crossing his arms making him look quite intimidating.

"I'm no master nor a fighter," she stated. "I'm just…"

"A chef? With your kind of skill you could master any fighting style you wanted," he said.

Tùzǐ eyed him up and down before shaking her head, "You're crazy."

She turned to get her things done when she felt his paw on her arm.

"What?"

Zak sighed, "It's basically a crime to see someone like you feel so down over this subject. Give me a day, and I'll show you what I mean."

Tùzǐ eyed him, "You realize that you're helping me. A blossom. That theoretically at some point will fight your friend?"

Zak let go of her arm and rose to his complete height, "I am aware, however Karasu is quite the fighter I have my trust in that she'll do what she will have no problem with the blossoms."

"Why are you so sure?"

Zak shrugged, "She's both my best friend and leader of our clan. I know her better than anyone out there. She will not hesitate."

Tùzǐ pondered over his words. Analyzing the outcome. Technically she had nothing to lose, and at this time anything that didn't kill her was a miracle. Slowly she turned to zak who seemed eager to start.

"You got yourself a deal…"

" _Zakku but you can just call me Zak_ ," he said bowing.

Tùzǐ smiled, "Pleasure Zak, my name is Tùzǐ and I am eager to learn."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Two days and not a sight. Karasu sighed again as she used a practice dummy. Two days had passed since Zak disappeared and she had no idea where he was. He only left a note saying he would come back and nothing else. She had shrugged it off but now it seemed like an eternity had passed since she last saw her best friend.

The dummy spun and hit her in the face as she zoned out. Growling under her breath, Karasu stood and got ready for another round.

"Between you and the goat I've had it with tension," said Nyx watching from a distance.

Karasu turned to the siamese cat, "What do you mean?"

Nyx rolled her eyes, "The goat keeps blaming herself over the whole Tùzǐ fiasco. Good thing she still practices otherwise who knows what'll happen. Then you're over here all mopy because your boyfriend left you to be with the rabbit."

Karasu growled, "Zak is my friend."

Nyx rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before."

"It's true!"

Nyx yawned, "Anyway, all that depressing aura is not good for neither of you."

Karasu sighed, "I'm worried for Zak."

Nyx rolled her eyes and walked away, "Geez she's blind."

"What's wrong Nyx?" asked one working peahen from the practice yard as she watched the Ladies of the Shade practice as she sewed.

Nyx gave a dismissing wave but sat next to the peahen, "What cha doing?"

Gāoguì blushed and smiled, "Just a robe for Po. It has taken sometime but I think I'll be worth it."

Nyx turned to the ladies, "And the song bird?"

"Song? She's with Po," said Gāoguì continuing her stitching. "Both are discussing something of the new routine of the Ladies."

Nyx frowned but remained silent as the ladies finished their routine and began once more.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

News were heard the next day in the afternoon. Lu-Shi found herself in the ceremonial yard along with the rest of the tenants of the Jade Palace. Her mark still glowed from that same morning but now it gave of more of a glow than before. Her guilt had given pass to confidence that she would be able to handle this fight with ease as any of her previous ones.

Shao was behind her, a hoof on her shoulder as Lu-Shi eyed the double doors of the entrance with an expectant eye. Behind them everyone else waited patiently, however the gloss around Po's eyes and glow of his palm was quite the scene. He watched with a calculating gaze, unable to tear his eyes from the double doors. This concerned others but Shifu forbid them to walk close to the dragon warrior.

Po suddenly raised his glowing palm and the entire place was engulfed in a golden dome like before. Lu-Shi jumped from her place to the center of the yard where a large red blossoms mark showed itself. The double doors then opened and a shadow rushed out of the way, leaving a trail of feathers behind itself until he landed besides Karasu.

"Zak?"

Zak smiled at her but was met with a fist that enabled a groan.

"I deserved that," he said.

" _Yes you did._ "

Wo Hop rushed to meet gaze with the other figure and watched the glowing blossom mark on his daughter's palm. Cold sweat travelled down his neck as Tùzǐ Hop smiled to Lu-Shi.

"You took your time," said the goat.

Tùzǐ shrugged, "You didn't give me a time limit."

Lu-Shi grunted, "Let's get this over with."

Tùzǐ's smiled increased, "I thought you wouldn't ask."

Tùzǐ rushed over to Lu-Shi but the goat dodged with a back flip landing swiftly and rushing to deal her own attacks. Tùzǐ quickly dodged the incoming attack and moved to gain some distance between her and Lu-Shi. Lu-Shi turned just in time for her eyes to widen and she had to rush out of the way. Tùzǐ launched an onslaught of sharp looking needles barely managing to dodge by the goat.

"Tùzǐ?" awed Wo Hop at what he was witnessing.

Next to him Ping laid a wing on his shoulder, "Welcome to my world."

Tùzǐ rushed and picked a needle spinning her entire body and throwing it to Lu-Shi who dodged it once more and managed to jump on the rabbit. Hoof met air as Tùzǐ moved swiftly to try and avoid the goat's attacks. Tùzǐ barely hit back as she dodged successfully every attack. Lu-Shi spun around to deliver a kick that took Tùzǐ by surprise and threw her back.

Gasping for air, Tùzǐ took a needle in each paw and turned them around revealing round points. Lu-Shi frowned but rushed to try and get another kick. Tùzǐ countered with her needles marking spots around the goat's legs. Lu-Shi moved back unsure of what was happening. However Tùzǐ only seemed to smile and pant out of breath.

"So soon?" asked the goat barely breaking a sweat.

Tùzǐ nodded, "I'm not used to this kind of exercise."

"Let's finish this then," said Lu-Shi rushing over.

However her next attack was lost as Tùzǐ turned and used her needle on a specific part of Lu-Shi's back. The goat froze and tumbled unable to move.

Jaws dropped in amazement at how fast everything had happened. One moment Lu-Shi had the upper hand and then…not?

The red mark in the floor disappeared and Lu-Shi was able to move again. The goat watched her mark slowly disappear alongside the bigger mark on the floor.

"You did well," said Tùzǐ stretching her paw to the goat.

Lu-Shi took it and raised, "What?"

"Sorry," said Tùzǐ. "Apparently I have to work really fast to get everything down."

" _Go Tùzǐ!_ " yelled Zak smiling down at her.

Tùzǐ chuckled, "I would have gone easier but…"

Lu-Shi raised her hoof, "Its okay. I got us into this fight and…I lost. I guess these sorts of things do happen."

"Lu," she heard Po said from the elevated ground.

"Guess it wasn't meant to be," said the goat to the panda. "Thank you for everything."

Shao rushed to her side as servants of the Jade Palace brought their things for their leave.

"You don't have to leave," said Po rushing to her side.

Lu-Shi smiled sadly at the panda, "I think it's for the better. It's a long walk back home and…I really don't want to be here when you get your wife. Though I do wish you both, best of luck."

"Lu…"

Lu-Shi kissed Po in the cheek and picked her belongings, "Thank you for everything, Po."

Soon she and Shao left the palace behind.

"I didn't think…" Tùzǐ whispered.

Po turned to her and patted her head, "She didn't want to see who am going to marry."

Tùzǐ swallowed as tears accumulated in her eyes, "I didn't…"

"It was her choice," said Po bringing her to him.

Tùzǐ hugged the panda's belly and cried to it, all the while Po patted her head gently.

 _And so it begins, one down, six to go._

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

 **AND OUR WINNER WITH 14 VOTES TO 3 IS, TUZI.**

 **i gotta say i am shocked... thanks to those who voted this round and made the bunny the winner...which is funny cos i thought ppl were going to pick Lu-Shi...guess im not the only one that forgot about her xD**

 **Okay serious topic now: i'm letting you guys choose the next fighters. WHY? You ask the author to which i reply...**

 **I am tired. This story is cool and all, but i have NO idea who to pick next to fight. I love all these characters and it hurts me to see them go, specially the OC's of you fellow readers T_T so i'm leaving this in your hands, HELP ME FINISH THIS PLZ!**

 **now the contestants for the next round are easy:**

 **Gāoguì**

 **Nyx**

 **Song**

 **Karasu**

 **just write the name of who you wish to see next in a review, PM or whatever and i'll come up with some way to get them in a fight. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THIS THE BEST EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE! i've been watching too many vote things :/ I BLAME YOUTUBE**


	15. Chapter 15

That afternoon after the fight the rest of the events went on as usual, for the most part. I giant cross had settled on the backs of each and every one of the blossoms. Each one had to fight the other whether they were ready for it or not. Being it easy or hard they better start formulating ideas for their fight with whoever it was. That meant analyze and conjure the best strategies for each and every one of them. However this train of thought wasn't the same for everyone in the tournament.

For example, Tùzǐ was just excited she got the first fight out of the way and she could finally have a breather, even if the breather meant having her father obsessing over her on how she won the fight. Tùzǐ didn't reply many of his questions, opting to do the labor she had left in his paws for two days. She had a special dinner to plan and she didn't need to be disturbed.

At the other end of the Palace someone else wasn't entirely into the whole thinking ahead of time. This one was Karasu who had taken Zak back to their room and was interrogating the black tiger to death.

"Where were you?" she asked.

Zak rolled his eyes, " _I just went to help Tùzǐ, no big deal_."

Karasu glared at him making Zak raise his arms, " _I'm innocent_."

"It's not like you to go out of your way and help strangers," said Karasu.

Zak shrugged, " _I can make exceptions_."

Karasu followed her friend as he changed his vest and tighten the new one around his chest. Zak then turned and eyed Karasu curiously, before simply gesturing for the door. However as he didn't get a reply, Zak simply walk out and towards the training hall. Karasu slumped on the futon watching her best friend leave her behind without as much as a glance back as he walked out of the door.

Karasu swallowed hard before taking a deep breath to calm the sudden unknown feeling rising in her chest. Removing her gaze from the door, she shook her head.

What was wrong with her? This was Zak. He could do whatever he wanted. Didn't she drag him all the way to China because she was going to get married? And she was going to win this contest and prove her value as a warrior and companion.

The black tiger stood suddenly and took a deep breath. She had to focus, on this contest. For her clan. For herself.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Later that same evening the palace gathered for dinner as usual. Po had yet to show up, but the rest of the table was present waiting for their meal.

"Hey everybody," said the dragon warrior stepping into the room and towards the table. "I had to help in the kitchen."

Shifu nodded at his former student as the servants made their way inside the kitchen with lines of exotic plates. The confusion of the plates was apparent to everyone present, except for one of the present.

" _Amazing_ ," said Zak.

Karasu frowned, "Japanese cuisine?"

Zak couldn't help but smile as a small bunny made her way to the table and smiled back at him.

" _Thank you_ ," said Zak bowing lightly.

Tùzǐ smiled and gestured to the table, "Tonight you'll enjoy top notch Japanese plates as a thank you gift to Zak for helping me. I hope you all enjoy it."

The furious five along with the rest of the tenants seemed intrigued but one in particular held quite the grip on her chopsticks.

" _Please_ Tùzǐ," said Zak. "You didn't have to. I told you most of your ability was yours."

Tùzǐ shook her head, "Well I wouldn't have polished my technique if it weren't for you."

Shifu turned to the foreigner, "However I'm overwhelmed by you teaching her nerve techniques. Quite the risky move."

Zak turned to the older master, "No offence master but I didn't teach Tùzǐ how to do anything, I merely pushed her in the right direction."

The table turned to the rabbit that cautiously took a seat and picked her chopsticks.

"Apparently Tùzǐ here had previous experience with how the inner muscles worked due to some extensive cooking regimen," said Zak. "She basically learned in on her own once, I just casually mentioned it as one of the more advanced techniques."

"It would seem as you got really close during your trip," said Karasu glaring at Tùzǐ.

The oblivious bunny picked a sushi roll and took a bite of it. Slowly she moved it around her mouth before nodding and picking a second one.

Zak also ignored her tone when he replied, "You could say that. Tùzǐ is quite the quick learner…perhaps because I had to use kitchen terms for her to learn."

"I didn't know you knew kitchen talk?" growled Karasu.

Zak thought for a second, "Of course not, she taught me. We spoke on things and she turned them into kitchen talk, then we got into the perfect in-between."

Tùzǐ nodded, "It was quite hard the first day. But we got the hang of things."

" _Really fast I may add_ ," said Zak. "I thought we would be there longer."

Tùzǐ chuckled, "Glad we didn't."

Zak nodded and took his meal before freezing in place. Everyone turned to him watching as the blood drained from his face while he stared at the contents of his plate.

Tùzǐ frowned and chewed slowly on her food trying to make out what happened. However Karasu's chuckle ended up breaking the tension.

"Found anything interesting?" she asked her friend.

Zak however didn't remove his eyes from his plate. Tùzǐ left her food half eaten and moved to Zak, her chef side worrying she made a mistake and the other half of her just worried about her new friend. However when she arrived at his side and stared at his dish, she didn't see anything wrong.

She picked the plate and looked around it but saw nothing odd or out of place, "Perhaps is the flavor? But he didn't have any…"

"Tofu," Zak said, still frozen in place. "Tofu…Tofu."

Tùzǐ shook the black tiger a little, trying to shake him awake, "Zak?"

Karasu simply rolled her eyes, removed her best friend's plate and pinched Zak out of it, " _The tofu is gone_."

" _Karasu!_ " said Zak rubbing the damaged area. " _Not funny!_ "

" _You would have seen your face and you would have laughed_ ," chuckled Karasu taking a piece of tofu and eating it.

Zak recoiled at the sight and turned to his newly placed plate, _"Thank you Tùzǐ."_

"You're welcome," said Tùzǐ walking back to her plate.

"Wait, you're afraid of tofu?" asked Monkey glancing at the black tiger.

Zak took a deep breath, "The mind of a child is quite moldable. I was victim of such atrocious crime in my youth as well. It was during my early years," he explained. "I had just met Karasu and we were…quite inseparable. Apparently that didn't stop her from telling me that Tofu is alive."

Karasu chuckled, "Not my fault you were so gullible."

Zak slouched on his seat, staring silently at his tofuless plate.

"I didn't know you did pranks," said Nyx. "You've been so…distant."

Karasu straighten her back on the seat, "I don't, I just prank Zak. He's always been easy bait. I'm actually horrible at it."

Nyx raised a brow but made no further comment as she watched the two interact with little to no interest. Tùzǐ however watched them both with an interest eye, especially she watched Zak. He'd been so nice to her for those days they were out training. If there was a possible way to repay him even further she would take the case in a heartbeat…then again…

"Zak _why don't I try_ and _help_ you _as best as_ I can," she said in a weird mix between Japanese and Chinese.

Zak turned to the small bunny, curiosity obviously morphing his features, " _Help me_?"

Tùzǐ nodded, "On overcoming your fear to tofu!"Zak seemed to debate this for a few second before avidly nodding.

"If you manage I'll own you one," he told her leaning on the table.

Tùzǐ grinned, "Take it as pay back for helping me."

Zak chuckled and leaned back, "Well I'm stuffed, better go back to bed."

"Coward," said Tùzǐ leaning her head on her paw.

Zak –who was currently standing- finished his action and gazed at the bunny, "Aw no _I've been through hell and back. I'm sleeping tonight before I face any more horrors. Good night._ "

" _Good night_ ," was Tùzǐ's reply. "Well I'm going to do as the tiger and head back, finish my chores and to bed. See ya in the morning."

Finished the brown bunny hopping back to the kitchen.

"They seemed to hit off quite well," said Mantis with his mouth full.

Karasu's eyes danced between the door and the kitchen hall. However she simply stood and walked out of the dining room without a single word.

"And she seems mad about something," said Monkey.

Nyx watched this interaction and leaned in on the table, "Can't you see they have a thing for each other?"

Monkey and Mantis seemed unfazed by her words, as they simply stared oblivious to what she meant.

"I can see it too," mentioned Gāoguì. "It's weird."

"How is she still in the tournament?" said Song.

"Meaning?" said Mantis.

Crane sighed, "That they don't know about their feelings. It's obvious."

Everyone in the table agreed.

"This will be interesting. At some points," said Nyx leaning back.

"This will end in disaster," said Gāoguì picking her napkin to clean her beak.

"Or it might end with a double wedding," said Viper.

"That is a possibility?" asked Po.

"There was nothing against it in the scroll," said Crane.

"Perhaps," said Gāoguì. "We should let everything run its proper course. If she was chosen it means there is always the possibility she will stay with the dragon warrior."

The blossoms turned to their plates, suddenly aware of the stakes of the tournament. That was until Nyx finished her meal and rose from the table.

"Good night then."

Everyone nodded and watched her disappear into the halls and towards her chambers.

"I suppose we all should head back then," said Shifu. "It's been a long day and it promises to get even longer as time goes by."

Nods of agreement followed the master as he stood and walked out. As he was out of ear shot the rest of the table remained silent for a while until the meal was finished.

"Why doesn't it feel like this will end anytime soon?" said Mantis.

"Because it won't," said Tigress. "It's only a matter of time before things turn sour in the Jade Palace."

"There might be a long wait before that master Tigress," said Song watching her blossom mark.

"Or we're just postponing the inevitable," said Po. "Only one winner will come out of this after all."

Po sighed and swallowed hard, "I just wanted to make my dads happy."

Song and Tigress turned to Po watching as his face fell with the weight on his shoulders.

"Po," said Tigress placing her paw on his arm, "The decision to participate was taken by us. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on that. We could have walked away, refuse to fight, but we didn't. We're here ready to show that we have what it takes to win."

Po turned to the tiger, "Ti I…"

But his words were stopped by the tiger, "Take your time and you'll see, this was our choice and no one else's. We came to fight, to win, to prove ourselves. Just ask and you'll see."

Po gazed into her amber eyes and gently spoke his next words, "Did you?"

Po's mark began to give off a faint golden glow as he waited for his answer. Unbeknownst to him, the other marks began glowing faintly also. Each one of the blossoms stopping mid way through their task to stare into the distance and replying just as Tigress' voice reached his ears with the reply.

"Yes."


	16. Chapter 16

After what felt like an eternity, the palace was back to its usual pace. After the vents of the day before it was an immense relief to everyone at the palace. Finally some peace, quiet and tranquility, well at least for most people in the Jade Palace.

" _Help me!_ " yelled Zak running away from the kitchen followed closely by a brown blur.

"Zak wait up and come back here!" said Tùzǐ holding a pair of chopsticks with a small square piece of tofu.

The piece, no bigger than an inch, hold tightly between the chopsticks as she ran to catch up with the black tiger that suddenly had seemed to get super speed. Tùzǐ stopped and slowly fought for breath. Who knew he was so devoted to run away? Perhaps it was a bad idea to make him wake up to a mountain of the thing in his room?

Tùzǐ thought about it and blinked. Monkey had given her the idea, but now she didn't feel it had been a good option. The brown bunny sighed; well she already started with her plan…perhaps it worked on the long run? Shaking her head the bunny rushed on her pursuit of the black tiger. However she hoped to land a different approach this time.

A group of five watched as the black blur known as Zak, rush pass them and towards the village. The eyes of the five kept steady on the black blur before turning, not ten minutes later, to see a brown blur follow Zak. Their gazed followed too, as Tùzǐ disappeared towards the village.

"Perhaps we should go see them?" said Viper.

Monkey and Mantis held in their laughs as Viper turned to Tigress for confirmation. Tigress, not having heard them, turned to Viper and shook her head.

"We should get ready for today's training."

However Po reached their side, panting as he did so, "Hey guys, no training today."

The five turned to Po, raising their questioning gaze at the panda, "What?"

Po took a deep breath, "Well you see… Shifu has been thinking that perhaps it would be a good idea to…go out and get to know the girls…in a more personal level?"

The five didn't reply as they stared at the panda. Before the silence prolonged, however, Tigress nodded.

"Very well," she said uncrossing her arms. "We can do as we please?"

Po nodded and Tigress walked towards the training hall. As always the hardcore warrior's favorite pass time was to train, that had always been the rule. Po sighed and smiled to the five.

"Well guy have fun…"he said raising his finger. "I need to…find some things…for you know…"

With that he ran off towards the village.

The remaining four stayed still wondering what to do. It didn't take long before Viper slithered towards the village, Crane for the barracks and Monkey and Mantis looked at each other. Slowly their mouth turned to wicked smiles before rushing off to the kitchen. They hadn't had enough laughs with the black tiger just yet.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

At the other side of the palace, a group of snow leopards made their practice routine once more. As always they were graceful, like flying petals in the wind, lightweight, delicate, gentle, mesmerizing. It captivated the spectators and attracted the working staff of the jade Palace; however only one watched with a satisfactory expression on her face.

Gāoguì carefully sewed the cloth in her hands to give it the proper shape, her wing working tirelessly on the seam to give it only the best finish, but her eyes remained glued to the action. She watched the girls dance in the wind as if floating, not a worry in the world. Her eyes sparkled at the sight from time to time as if she yearned to be able to participate. The ladies of the shade noticed, their leader, noticed. But since their first effort to try and make the peahen join them, none had tried to make her join them again.

However, the constant yearning elevated from her and reached the leopards who desperately wanted to give the small peahen a taste of what she yearned for.

"You should join is," said Song to the peahen as she and the ladies assembled to take a small break before their next run.

Gāoguì blinked at Song and smiled, "I could not. It is not particularly an act I want to make avid participation of."

Song chuckled and wandered over the peahen, "You seem quite interested as you watched."

Gāoguì stopped sewing, "I was…"

"You don't have to be scared."

"I have done it before," said the peahen. "I took extensive dancing classes, but I have never seen such devotion to the art as you do."

Song watched the peahen, "What do you mean?"

Gāoguì smiled weakly, "It's not something I should openly do, dancing is to become grateful, more feminine and delicate, a medium to achieve the ultimate goal to perfection."

Song scoffed, "I think you have it all wrong."

Gāoguì eyed the snow leopard curiously as she continued to speak.

"Dancing, is like…a whole new world. No one can tell you what's good or bad. You just float carelessly in the air as your feet and body do their own thing. All bad things vanish and it's just…perfect."

Gāoguì seemed to gaze far away, lost in thought, "I…I can't." she said shaking her head. "I have my family's honor to maintain. My cousin made have caused a mess but I shall not."

Song turned to Gāoguì and watched as she positioned her needle and cloth to begin working again. However Song could see the slight shake from her wing. Song quickly reached for the wing to stop the action, grabbing immediately the eyes of the peahen.

"No one would have to know," said Song. "You can just do it once. I really would like to see you perform."

Gāoguì lowered her needle as Song spoke. Her heart screamed yes but her mind yelled no, both emotion displayed vividly on the peahen's eyes as Song watched. The conflicting emotions fighting to assert dominance over the other and Gāoguì was the battlefield. However soon the peahen sighed and shook her head slightly.

"No."

Song was about to leave when her sisters joined her and began inciting for the peahen to demonstrate her capabilities. It was an odd display, all the snow leopards talking at the same time on how they wished to see the act and how she could pull it off.

Gāoguì watched all of their enthusiastic faces and couldn't help and wonder, why. She was trying to be a prime example and she was being pushed out of control. She had a family to protect and a position to regain. She wasn't here for games and shenanigans. However her walls were crumbling fast. She really wanted to do this…just once. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?

"Gāoguì?" asked Song taking the peahen out of her stupor. "Are you alright?"

The peahen blinked at the snow leopard as she noticed everyone had stop speaking. Her eyes traveled to the other ladies that were watching her just as Song was, a worried expression on their faces.

"I'm sorry Song," said Gāoguì. "I simply, cannot risk it."

Song nodded, "I get it. I just thought…perhaps it would help you, with the whole stress thing. You know, since Duyao."

Gāoguì turned to her cloth and began sewing once more. Her eyes focused on the task at hand more than before.

Song sighed and stood up, "It was just a thought. You seemed to enjoy it so much, perhaps it would…wake you?"

Gāoguì continued sewing, "I am focused. My duty is to marry the dragon warrior, bring honor back to my family's name and live happily with my husband."

"You seem very closed minded," said Song crossing her arms.

Gāoguì stopped her work, "It's not." she growled under her breath. "It's my life goal. It's what I was raised for."

Song raised an eyebrow, "To be a trophy wife?"

Gāoguì froze and turned to the leopard, "If that is the way you see it then yes, to be a trophy wife."

Song sighed and turned, "Once more from the top." She told the ladies as they got ready for their final practice of the day.

Gāoguì not feeling the entire thing stood and brushed herself off before wandering away from the ladies and to her chambers. She would finish this there more calmly.

However unbeknownst to her someone had seen the fight. She was currently watching the retreating figure before turning to the ladies of the shade. Her eyes wondered on their forms as they made their final practice.

It seemed off to fraternize with the enemy, but if she was serious none of these girls seemed particularly threatening. So far her biggest threat was the tiger master, and she could easily counterattack her with a little more planning. But these girls…the leopard spent most of her time dancing and didn't show any particular domination of any kung fu style that would impact the Siamese cat in great deal. The peahen was a scary opponent. If her first impression gave anything away was that she was unpredictable when she wanted to be…or perhaps it wasn't self induced. If that was it she was quite the opponent.

The foreigner was a given win. Nyx had no desire to proof her worth with someone who clearly had feelings for someone else. Sure she didn't know it but the black tiger would have to deal with her romance somewhere else because Nyx wasn't getting into that conflict. She had a goal and that was to win the tournament no matter what.

Eliminating Karasu and Gāoguì that left only Song as the only possible challenge. Nyx turned to watch her possible next challenge and analyzed her option. Song was entirely unaware of the gaze of the Siamese cat as she watched carefully from the cover of the trees. However she didn't last long as the cat found her waiting there wouldn't get her any closer to know how to figure things out.

"Song?" asked one of the ladies watching as Song's eyes trailed off somewhere.

"Practice is over," said Song landing quietly on the floor. "Good job everyone."

The ladies watched their leader until one of them spoke.

"What's wrong?" asked another.

Song simply smiled and shook her head, "Go and take a bath, I'll explain things later."

However not all the ladies left the snow leopard alone.

"You saw didn't you?" said one of the twins.

Song smiled, "You think a thief doesn't know a thief when she sees one?"

"Sleazy," replied the other.

Song spun and opened her parasol finally giving an innocent pose to the duo, "What do you mean?"

The twins giggled until one of them cleared her throat.

"What about the peahen?"

Song thought for a second, "I just thought it would be a nice gesture. I know my ladies, and when I see someone that wants to join."

"She has that spark," said the other.

Song nodded, "But I fear that being parented with the long passed lord has caused some problems."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"What we always do," said Song. "We wait until we get the clear."

The twins nodded at each other.

"Let's hope we get a new lady," said one of the twins to the other.

"I know, it's been a while."

But Song wasn't wavering at all, she knew Gāoguì would join she just needed a little push. But there was still the tournament thing. Perhaps instead of fighting Nyx she should aim for Gāoguì. Once out of the tournament, the peahen wouldn't have a problem to say no and join the ladies of the shade…

A scream cut through Song's thoughts as a black blur passed her but got tackled by a brown blur.

"Stop running!"

" _Karasu! Help! I'll do anything! I'll do chores! Talk to the elders for you! I'll get that hideous training regime for you! I'll stop complaining about the Jade Palace! Anything, just help me!_ "

"I'm not even holding anything anymore!"

Zak stopped writhing and watched Tùzǐ's paws to see they were in fact empty. Sighing in relief he dropped on the floor and took several calming breaths.

"Better?" asked Tùzǐ.

Zak merely nodded.

"We'll try something different tomorrow…less…direct." Said Tùzǐ walking away to probably get working on lunch.

Zak then sat up and smiled at he looked at the bunny. It only took a few seconds before he was up his feet and rushing towards his new friend.

" _Tùzǐ_ _wait up!_ " he shouted at the brown bunny; that waited until he joined her side before walking inside the palace.

Song and the twins chuckled and followed them but from afar another black tiger watched Zak and Tùzǐ with a less pleased expression. Her eyes seemed clouded with conflict, thousands of emotions running through her body, heart and mind. Taking a calming breath, Karasu dropped and changed her field of vision towards the training hall. Her fist clenched suddenly as un-described rage traveled through her. Maybe a little practice wouldn't hurt.

The black tiger stood and rushed at an incredible speed to the hall. In her wake a trail of black feathers followed.

 **Hey! yeah very 'brave' from my part to make a AN at the end of the second chapter huh? i mean how dare i disappear for so long and not even leave a note? well...some s*t happened and this took longer than i thought it would. Filler is NOT my forte and i hate it URGH i have no idea where even the date thing got into the mix, i just sat down after a week with no idea and came up with some small thing then this chapter came up and i was like WOAH. if you want to know what happened...well i had no motivation. suddenly i didn't feel like doing anyting and just lay for hours not doing anything. Then they cut the internet. no money. no internet. then my partner had to leave for the states so we went out and that day after the beach last chapter came up but i still had no internet and even worse my computer blocked me out during that time. i have no phone internet in my house which means i had to wait with no computer for the rest of the time i had no internet. so i began to play thi sold video game i had started and never finished and...well then my internet came back...i fixed my comp...but...um i spent most of my time on the game and *chuckles*  
ANYWAY! the next fights are pretty much settled. i also want to say that the dates WILL COUNT AS VOTES FOR YOUR FAVORITE CONTESTANT. if you like the date just tell me on a PM OR leave a review with you saying that's the date you liked the most. i thought i mixed it up a little since the total is not what i thought it was going to be. WE NEED MOAR. so i'm adding these up. also i've been thinking on adding alt endings with the final contestants sort of what if the other wn ya know. idk let me know.**

 **before i forget, special rules apply to the date votes. IF you're NOT logged in with an account, the vote WILL NOT COUNT. why i'm doing this? last time i think someone voted WAY TOO MUCH so i'm not accepting entries for this unless i verify you do in fact have an account and are not voting twice. welcome to democracy people**

 **Also Audie is it? i'm working on it. i think tigress is pretty established and has a big fanbase to follow (heck i wish i was that hardcore) so if you want or there's something particularly special you want to see on the date i could try and make it work. i have one rule tho...no kissing on the lips. this is ancient china and thus i cannot accept it. I'm going old school B) and i am not afraid to admit i'm a perv but this story is to take it slow. besides foreplay is good before the main event xD so let me know kay now if you excuse me i have a date this sunday with my soon to be GF and it's saturday night in tartarus which means shadows leveling up and money being spent on idiotic things like flowers for my possible harem**


	17. Chapter 17

***wild update has appeared* Go reader**

When dinner arrived, the tenants of the palace all settled to enjoy their meal. It had been quite the odd day, though uneventful in many ways that the tenants were more that grateful for. After the calm comes the storm, and since the massive storm was yet to fully pass by, the waiting game was set until the next mayor argument that would lead to a fight.

But luckily no one had to indulge in those thoughts. So far the atmosphere was likeable and familiar. Everyone sat and idly chattered, at least some did. Those that were in conversation were deep in thought, almost glaring at their plates. None of the glares were particularly menacing but the far off look gave off a 'don't mess with me' kind of vibe making the ones that were fraternizing, take a cautious step back in terms of conversation.

One of those people was Po. The cheerful lovable panda swirled the contest of his plate with his chopsticks and wondered about the dates he had to go to and how would he enjoy such a date without massively disappointing his fathers of the respective blossom. Perhaps if he had some sort of…guide, he could come up with something decent and get to know them better in the process. Then there was a tiny problem the panda didn't want to think about too much and that was Tigress. Sure she was a blossom and didn't blame him about it, but they were friends and this entire situation could ruin the possibilities for him.

Po was sure that those short intimate moments he shared with her before were a spur of the moment. He needed motivation and she was there to provide it. Simple as that. He also had to count that she basically introduced him to kung fu, well her and the furious five, but she was the first he saw that day, the one that drove him to fangirl over things labeled kung fu, forced him to learn everything that basically formed him.

Po stared at the soup on his bowl, swirled his chopsticks on it then in one swift move, he picked the bowl and swallowed the contents inside the plate. By the end he was n closer to finding answers but at least he was full…although maybe some extra buns would help.

"Every thing okay there buddy?" asked Monkey watching Po place his bowl back.

Po shook his head, "Naw, just…this is really good soup."

Monkey eyed the bowl before frowning, "That was hand water."

Po froze and turned to the bowl he sighed again, "No wonder it tasted bland."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Naw, my dads have everything covered. They even bought some new robes for my dates. That's not going to be weird at all," said the panda taking a plate with dumplings and throwing one on his open mouth.

"New robes," said Mantis moving his clawthingies around his curves. "Oh lala."

"Yeah make fun of me," said Po. "I could have dodged this with a simple no."

"The competition or your fathers dressing you up?"

"Both."

Monkey raised his hands, "You're telling me telling your fathers no could have keep them satisfied?"

Po raised his paw to answer, until he noticed he didn't have an answer, "I guess not." He threw another dumpling on his mouth.

Both Monkey and Mantis snickered at that.

"Sounds like Li and Ping alright."

"I do love my dads but sometimes they just don't get it," said Po. "But I do appreciate their support. Having me as a son is not easy."

"Tell us about it," said Mantis.

"I meant the dragon warrior part," said Po stopping midway of another dumpling.

"Whatever let's you sleep at night big guy," said Mantis not noticing Po's glare.

Good thing Shifu had other plans, before their argument continued.

"Excuse me," said the red panda. "As you all know, we have already said goodbye to our first contestant. A sad departure I must admit, but it was in her wishes not to stay for very long. However as six of you remain we must bring on the next course of action. As you may be aware, the blossoms are more than just a fighting force to fight for the hand of the dragon warrior, you must also compete for his heart. With six competitors still present and the future opportunities to show how capable exactly each one is, Po's fathers and I formed a schedule around which each blossom will have an entire day to spend with the dragon warrior.

These dates will take place on a specific day and will help the bond between the contestants and the dragon warrior. I am aware that each one of you was already aware of this outing before now. This is merely a formality to explain the dates and the schedule."

"Pardon master Shifu," interrupted the green peahen. "Are the days already predetermined?"

Shifu blinked and dug a piece of scroll from his sleeve, "Well not really. The week is open for you to choose if you so wish…"

"I had a small outing planned for a while," said the peahen. "I'm still not entirely done with it but I'd be finished before the week is out."

Shifu nodded, "I do not see a problem then."

"However I wish not to meddle in the possibilities of the other contestants," she continued raising her head to meet eyes with the competition. "I wish for a fair fight."

With no objections Shifu stared at the scroll, "We could rearrange a schedule with the day you prefer the most."

"Sounds like a plan then," said Nyx standing. "First the dress up, now a date? This is turning into a very man driven idea."

"Is a historical plan to…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, short stuff," cut Nyx. "History ain't got nothing to do with it pops. I didn't say I wasn't in, I'm just saying that it's most likely a man did those rules. He wished to see girls fawn over him like this."

Snickers ran over the table but were stop by a calculated glare from Shifu. The red panda then turned to Nyx.

"The rules are the same for a female or male," he stated. "Nothing is changed."

Nyx shrugged, "Sounds like a weird set of rules."

Shifu massaged in-between his eyes, "The rules of the tournament are, the winner is to not only win this tournament but also win the heart of the dragon warrior. We thought it would be a nice idea to let all of you have some time alone with Po in order to increase your chances, NOT, to sound like old men crazy to get our children wed."

The drop of chopsticks ran through the dining room leaving all startled. Turning, they noticed Tigress had left her chopsticks fall, he face –usually devoid of emotion- was paralyzed in shock.

It took her several seconds to compose herself and arrange her plates like they were before she began eating.

"Tigress is everything…"

"It's well master Shifu," she replied. "I…I'll head to my room. Good evening and enjoy the rest of the meal."

"But Tigress what about your date," said Viper.

The tiger master stopped and turned her head slightly, "I'll take whatever day is left."

With those words she left the dining room leaving everyone inside either shocked or frozen. No one expected that reaction from Tigress by the mere mention of words from the master but she did.

"What just happened?" asked Crane as confused as the rest.

"Oh no," said Shifu turning to find Ping and Li. "Here take this make sure all the girls get at least a day and save one for Tigress." With that he sprung out of the dining room in search for Tigress.

"Okay, now I'm really confused," said Crane.

"It's strange I've never seen Tigress act like that before," said Viper tuning to the table.

"Maybe she ate something bad?" said Nyx which earned her a glare form Tùzǐ.

"I'll let you know all my food is fresh," replied the brown bunny.

Nyx rolled her eyes.

"Well something must have happened," spoke Li.

Ping –that was staring at the door- smiled a little and nodded, "Well let's set up the dates for the girls and then we can head back to finish Po's outfits for each one."

"Dad!" groaned Po.

Ping chuckled and opened the scroll to start.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Why was she shaking? She didn't have to be shaking this much. She was master Tigress, hardcore master of kung fu. However her mind was a jumble of emotions drove on by one word, our. Shifu had said our children. She didn't want to get her hopes up but something inside her still felt the powerful emotions implied with that one word.

As a student she understood Shifu was her master, she had been trained like that, she understood it, then why was her mind so bundled. Why was her chest feeling so tight every time her mind made up those words coming from his lips?

"Tigress," spoke Shifu from the hall. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine master," she replied.

However Shifu was having none of it, "Tigress…may I come in?"

The silence that fell afterwards was heavy. Not even the wind outside was heard allowing the atmosphere to grow thick rather quickly.

But as time drove on and the atmosphere turned to something near impossible to stand, the door to Tigress' room slid opened to allow the red panda access.

Tigress moved back to her futon and sat cross legged on it facing towards her master. Shifu closed the doors and mirrored his student's position. They stayed there in silence for a while, the atmosphere still thick in speculation.

"Master/Tigress," both spoke in unison.

Silence fell on them once more.

"Master please…"

"Tigress, what happened back there…I guess it was my fault."

"How so master?"

"I guess I, spoke without thinking."

"Master."

"Tigress, I know I…had this distance from you, but I want you to know I hold you in great care. I know we've never had that sort of connection thanks to my reluctance to pursue anything but a student/teacher relationship. I understand that you understood my…phase during Tai Lung –whom I considered my own- and how his betrayal affected me. And in terms how that affected our relationship.

However I have been thinking…perhaps you'd like to see more of me as a father figure of sorts now with the possible marriage. I know I've discovered that I might be a little more over protective than what I previously thought.

I would understand your decline to my offer. I...haven't been a prominent figure in your life but I'd like the opportunity to act as one now. It might be late, but it's never too late to start."

Tigress stayed watching Shifu as he spoke. His eyes never wavered from hers, allowing her to see the sincerity and regret of his words. Her mind waved his words to form coherent sentences as she analyzed every word.

Once more the silence drove on as Shifu waited for Tigress response. His heart beat on his chest at a rapid pace. His paws were sweaty and he could barely breathe as he waited. He was nervous and reasonably so. Tigress was a woman a master in the art of kung fu, who ever heard of a master needing help from a father figure. She had proved she was capable and that made him proud and kind of sad that he was the reason she now had no father figure to really call…

"Father."

Shifu froze and stared at Tigress, wide eyed. Had she just…called him father?

"Or do you prefer…"

"Father is…fine. More than I…hoped for."

Tigress gave a weak smile, "Did you think I was going to close the doors to you? Just like that master. Give me credit; I personally never hated my treatment. If anything it made me more…"

"Hardcore?" they both shared a laugh, compliments of the dragon warrior.

"I guess I must get ready for…the next step then?"

"Date with Po."

Shifu sighed, "That will turn out well."

Tigress gave a smile, "He's not that bad…once you put up with him."

Shifu massaged his bearded, "I still question how is it you were chosen for such an 'honor'."

Tigress looked at her paws, "I thought…I'd be left without a home. I feared so many things as I fought Duyao. I guess that triggered something."

"Did you think of Po perhaps?"

"He's my friend," she said turning to face her master. "It was hard not to think of him."

Shifu looked pensive for a moment before nodding, "Then no connection between thoughts and mark. I guess I should leave so you can sleep. It'll be a hard week with all this dates and such."

Tigress nodded, "I have to check the schedule tomorrow to see when is my turn."

Shifu opened the door and stared back at Tigress, "Good night then."

"Master," replied Tigress bowing to Shifu.

As he closed the door however Tigress straightened and smiled, "Good night father."

That night Shifu went to sleep with a goofy grin on his lips and dreams of a small tiger cub rushing to his arms calling him father over and over again.

 ***reader finished chapter* *critical damage***

 **okay enough pokemon references. i have no reason why this was late other than...i'm an avid gamer and recently got my hands on pokemon moon, so i've been playing that. and persona and when i wasn't doing that i was cleaning. but next chapter we get the dates right...excited...i am very distracted atm so um...leave a review. i know i have a gazillion mistakes i'll fix them tomorrow and i'll re-upload this chapter. i just didn't want to leave you hanging okay um... *looks at 3DS* yeah have a nice week ciao**


	18. Chapter 18

**BOOM BABY miss me ;) i am shameless and embarrassed this was supposed to be uploaded YESTERDAY and my internet decided of all times to troll me yesterday URGH so annoying. you might also be wondering "TTMU why you no upload during holidays" or calling me whatever the heck in you minds because i didn't even give a notice on my brief hiatus. the answer is...POKEMON yeah remember that game that was taking most of my time well between that and my non invite parties i had to go to kinda turned my schedule upside down. like i didn't even want to go to that party and i still had to go.**

 **enough rambling sorry for the hiatus but i'm back and ready to take the bull by the horns...to some extent I'm still kinda lost where i'm going to take this story and all but i have a better much clearer image now and i like it**

When Po woke up at his father's shop, the events of the previous day came back to him rather quickly. He rolled on his back to stare at the ceiling, noticing that outside, the sun had yet to appear, which was fine by him.

Today was the day he would go on his first date, and who knows how that'll end up going. To make matters worse, his first date was with his long time idol, friend and partner in combat, Tigress. The decision had happened so fast, he was pretty sure his fathers had planned it since the beginning. Then again it hadn't surprised Po that they had things set up for this. They were the ones that encouraged the tournament in the first place. However he was surprised Shifu had gone along with the whole thing without protest. Not even Tigress argued and that was even more baffling.

Po had thought for a second Tigress would say she wasn't interested in being the first contestant to go on a date with him. Tigress knew him and thus he suspected she would be, somewhat reluctant to participate in such an outing with him, but, time later, she had yet to protest in anyway making it final that she was the first of all the blossoms to spend time with the dragon warrior.

A first sun rays broke through the top of Po's window, reminding him he had to get ready to head out. Po sighed and got up to do the seemingly long events of the day.

"Po?" said Ping as Po walked back to bathe.

Po stopped and turned to his father, "Yeah dad."

Ping blinked several times to make sure he was not still dreaming, "You're up."

Po nodded, "Well yeah…"

"Oh my goodness," said Ping. "I didn't think you were this serious about it."

Po thought for a second and frowned, "I guess I am…it's nice, meeting up with the girls and all that."

Ping smiled at Po but carefully gave a step in his direction, "Are you sure son?"

Po smiled, "You still think I could run off?"

Ping crossed his wings, "You think I'm foolish enough to not ask more than once."

Po stared at him, "Good point, but dad you don't have to worry. I'm actually quite satisfied and the small time I've spent with the girls has been good, so who knows."

"Remember Po," said Ping. "These girls are fighting for you; I hope you make the right decision."

"About that," suddenly said Po, after freezing on his father's words. "I feel bad about Lu-Shi."

"Don't we all."

"She didn't deserve it."

"You telling me."

"I still think she could have been given another chance."

"Things happen Po."

"I didn't want to be with her."

Silence.

"What did you say Po?"

"I didn't want to be with Lu-Shi," he replied. "Don't get me wrong, she is a sweet girl and all but…when the fight started, I felt it. Lu-Shi wasn't going to win. As I saw the fight, my mind just cheered for them both, but something else, just knew Tùzǐ was going to win. She had to win. I made Lu-Shi lose dad."

Ping watched as Po's face fell as he retold the events of the fight.

"It didn't happen with Tigress' fight, so why did Lu-Shi…"

"Po," interrupted the goose. "The heart always works in mysterious ways. Yours just wasn't on Lu-Shi. Sure, you may have liked her a lot -as a friend- and want to see her prosper, but sharing a life with a person involves more than just that.

I may not know a lot of this, but the short of experience I have, it's safe to say that what happened was for the best."

Po nodded shortly, "Thanks dad."

"Now go on, I have to open the restaurant and you have to get ready for your date with master Tigress."

Po chuckled and walked off to embark on his small journey.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" asked Shifu for the hundred time that same morning.

"I'm fine master, Viper is helping me and we're doing a good job so far," replied Tigress as Viper carefully fixed Tigress' vest.

Viper nodded as she finished and turned to the master, "You have nothing to worry about master, Tigress will look perfect for her date."

Shifu sighed, "That is not my main concern…"

"If you're worried about Po, then please don't worry," said Tigress. "He can easily be put in the right place."

"I'm more worried about your time with him," said Shifu.

Tigress chuckled, "I won't kill him if he gets out of line, if that's what you're concerned over master."

"I'm more concerned over your compatibility than anything else," said Shifu.

Tigress nodded, "Understandable." She said turning to her mark, "But nothing happens by accident, right?"

Shifu turned to Tigress and nodded, "True that."

"And done," finished Viper.

Tigress smiled and nodded, "How do I look father?"

Shifu turned to Tigress and eyed her carefully before nodding, "You look beautiful."

Tigress bowed, "I should be heading out, is still quite early but you all know how…"

"Tigress?" said Po from outside the room. "You ready to head out."

Shifu, Viper and Tigress all turned to the door, faces clear with shock and disbelief. Po had risen up…early.

"What odd world did I wake up in for Po to be early for anything," questioned Shifu.

Viper appeared as confused the rest while Tigress walked over and opened the door to her room. At the other side, Po was opening his mouth to try and call Tigress once more but then he closed it to stare at the tiger master as the morning light hit her just right to make her suddenly seem delicate and angelic like. Po blinked several times to pass his stupor and chuckled.

"Ready to go," he asked.

Tigress eyed Po, eyes widening as she saw he was fully dressed; a green vest similar to those pandas usually wore and new brown pants to accompany the vest.

"You got dressed," said Shifu joining Tigress.

Po chuckled, "It was dad, they have everything set up for each and every date. No two clothes will be alike."

"That's cute," said Viper.

"They got Mrs. Wong to help," added Po. "She got slightly carried away."

"It's okay panda," said Shifu. "For now you and Tigress may leave, I expect you both early back and if any problems are to arise, I believe you can make it back in time to stop it."

Both warriors bowed to Shifu before leaving. Shifu watched both their figures retreat and sighed. He just got to be with his daughter and now he had to let her go. It was hard, especially when you had all the previous time in the world and missed it, now she was leaving to probably be married and he had missed everything.

"Master," said Viper as she watched the distant look on her master's face.

Shifu turned to Viper and smiled, "Its fine. We should head over for breakfast."

However, Viper had already had a vague idea on what was happening through her master's head. She smiled and slithered to Shifu's side.

"You did well master."

Shifu could only smile slightly as they headed into the Jade Palace kitchen.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Tigress and Po walked slowly enjoying the peace the morning provided. The day was calm with the slow breeze rustling leafs in its wake. The night's cold still lingered slightly in the air filling the emptiness between Tigress and Po, but none seemed to actually feel the chill in the air.

"Um…Ti…" said Po, "I have somewhere I want to take you."

Tigress turned to Po and gave a short nod, "Very well."

Po then turned to walk towards the iron wood forest. Tigress frowned slightly while going to her usual training site. Her memories of this place weren't exactly the best right now; hours of sweat and exhaustion to become the dragon warrior tainted these trees. One would think if he was trying to win her over, Po would have thought of a better place to take her than this. On the other hand, on his first moment of weakness she had admitted of the time spent in these woods. Although not preferable, it was better than being in the village and being monitored by the villagers.

Tigress followed Po deeper and deeper into the forest and past it. On the other side of the woods, a long plain stretched as far as the eyes could see. Blinking the sudden sun away, Tigress watched Po as his face stared blankly into the distance. Confused as to why he had brought her here she spoke.

"The plains?"

Po smiled a little, "This…is the place I fell in love with kung fu."

Tigress blinked and turned to the plains uncertain of what did it had to do with their 'date'.

"How…"

Po chuckled and massaged the back of his neck, "I…remember going to the top of that hill." He pointed at a far off hill covered in deep foliage. "You were right…there, and over there was Boar.

It was awesome. You fought while the five watched. It just blew my mind, every strike, every hit, every dodge; it was like watching something magical unfold. Magical and powerful. It shook me entirely. I could explain it with words but, besides ultra super mega awesome I don't think any would do it the justice it deserves.

Then you guys got together executed this extend kick technique…I just couldn't look away. I'm pretty sure I forgot how to blink, think, and breathe as I watched. It was then, at that moment that I made a decision, kung fu was what I wanted to do. From then on it became my life. And you…"

He turned slightly to Tigress.

"You made it possible."

Tigress watched the large plains before her with new meaning. Po saw this and let a small chuckle escape him.

"In other words…you made the dragon warrior. If it wasn't for this one moment in time, I wouldn't have been that day on the Jade Palace. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found my place in the world.

I want to thank you for that Tigress. This one moment in time, means the world for me and no one else knows about it except for you now."

Tigress turned to Po to stare into his eyes. The smile on his lips and the sincerity on the depths of his eyes, Tigress knew he meant every word.

"You haven't told anyone else?"

Po shook his head, "Not really. This moment is simply…mine."

Tigress turned to the plains.

"These plains hold more than your realization," she said taking Po's attention. "They also hold mine."

Po remained silent allowing for a further explanation.

"During that fight I…realized I was more than just Shifu's clone. That I had to be my own self and explore further into it. Shifu was not pleased at the beginning of course, but when we arrived at the palace; Shifu told us it was time to be ourselves and helped us polish our fighting styles."

Po's shoulders slumped, "Woah."

Tigress chuckled, "I know."

"So he was always a meanie," stated Po.

"Don't let Shifu hear that," said Tigress with a smile. "But yeah."

"How is it you developed a crush on him?"

Tigress shrugged, "I was young, I moved from it quickly enough."

Po nodded, "Makes sense. You…um…look beautiful by the way."

Tigress looked down at her fitted vest and pants. The vest was similar to the one she wore when she first met Po only the vest was green instead of red.

"It's nothing spectacular," she said. "Unlike yours."

Po gave a nervous chuckle, "Yeah Mrs. Wong is pretty good."

Tigress turned to completely face Po which Po felt compelled to follow her example and turned to face her.

"This is a good start for our date, don't you think?"

Po smiled, "Well good to know 'cause we're just getting started."

 **HUZZAH xD i feel bad for only giving half a date to you but Tigress is high demand. i also notice i mostly keep her to last and i was like NOT TODAY YOU WONT also i'm no date expert, my most 'romantic date' was in a wendy's in my pj's at 8 or 9 pm and i was sick that time to top it all off. i know SUPER romantic. i got everyone falling head over heels over me all the time so watch out.**

 **Random Reviewer: your requests have not fallen on deaf ears my friend and i might just use em not just as you told them but they might be a little something of them in the later chapters xD YOUR REVIEWS ARE THE PILLAR OF THEIR DATES WUAHSHAHAHA**


	19. Chapter 19

Po and Tigress remained in the plains for most of the morning simply talking. The tiger master showed Po her first years of training with master Shifu and how he forced her to become a tiny version of him…without the ears and the mustache.

"Then I had to take this stance," said Tigress doing her stance. "And then I had to turn putting all my pressure to strike like this."

Po watched while his face was all red and full of air he contained to not burst off laughing. But all hell broke loose as Tigress made the move and considering her height she stumbled but regained her posture before she completely hit the ground.

Po burst laughing, "You're too big to pull that trick."

Tigress smiled, "I know, but Shifu wanted me to be his little clone…I mean after Tai Lung, its only normal he'd grow to want to control the world around him. It took that day for him to loosen…somewhat."

"I don't think Shifu 'loosened' enough back in the day," said Po leaning back on his arms.

Tigress slumped and gazed at the ground, "I guess you're right."

The silence that followed was quite relaxing and accepted. The slight breeze that followed allowed silence to settle as it carried a refreshing scent with it. The iron wood leaves swayed slightly with it allowing the light noises to settle on the duo. It was quite relaxing…until a loud grumble interrupted the afternoon.

Po chuckled and patted his stomach, "Guess we should head back for lunch."

Tigress turned to him with a smile and nodded, "We should head back then, want to have something from your father's shop?"

Po thought for a second before standing, "I have a better idea."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

"This was your great idea?" questioned Tigress with an unsure tone of voice.

Po massaged the back of his neck and chuckled, "Well it's not my most brilliant idea but I certainly like the whole concept."

"This is your worst idea to date, on that we can agree," said Tigress as she watched Po from the corner of her eye.

"You don't know if it'll work or not," said Po crossing his arms.

Tigress rolled her eyes, "Fine, let's get over with it so I can show you how much of a bad idea this is."

Po's great idea for lunch was to take Tigress back to the Jade Palace and take a small section so they could make their food. However as Po was excited for the experience Tigress dreaded it with the same amount. Not that she wasn't capable but most of the time she cooks rather bland food enough to fill her stomach and continue on. It wasn't until Po came to the palace that she started having more savory foods and even that was with a limit on how much she could have.

As Po got his apron ready, Tigress toyed with the object looking on how precisely to work it. She wasn't completely incompetent, but it had this weird string that no matter what she did she did not know where it went.

"Allow me," said Po turning to her after seeing her struggle.

Tigress handed him the apron that Po quickly got around her body. Gently, he tied the apron around her body.

"There," said Po adjusting the apron around Tigress' waist. "Now let's start."

It didn't take long for Po to find the same kind of dread Tigress did before they started cooking. She had a face he recognized quite well and it sent shivers down his spine just thinking about it. It was the face of someone that was willing to learn but had no idea what they were doing. It was the face of fake confidence he himself had put once upon a time in order to get things done. And it wasn't working.

Tigress rushed from one area to the other to line up things, as Po watched her take out some dumplins before they were fully cook and cut some vegetables with any consistency at all. Several pieces of food fell on the floor and unable to do much about it she simply rolled them out and continued to work.

Po scratched under his chin unsure on how to proceed but just about to burst. That was until Tigress was going to take a small bite of some of the questionable soup she had prepared. Po stepped forward quickly and stopped her from it.

"Please," he said taking the spoon from her paws. "Don't. Eat that."

Tigress blinked, "But these are the instructions you gave me."

Po nodded and forced the spoon away from her grip, "Yeah, I know but don't eat it."

Tigress let go of the spoon and crossed her arms to give Po her best glare. The giant panda sighed and placed the spoon on the table before running his paw down his face.

He had to fix this entire problem before starting once more and just the thought got Po internally groaning. How had things had gotten so out of hand?

A gasp cut his train of thought before he turned back to see Tùzǐ, wide eyes and mouth agape as she stared at the mess.

"I'll fix it," said Po right before the gong rang indicating a bandit attack.

Po sighed, "When I get back."

"Um…Po…" started Tùzǐ but was interrupted by Tigress.

"We have to go Po," said Tigress running out.

"Yeah, yeah, comin'," he said rushing past the brown bunny and in Tigress direction.

The bunny sighed and turned to the mess at hand just as another figure joined her.

" _Tùzǐ what…_ woah! What happened here?" said Zak joining Tùzǐ in the kitchen.

"Po and Tigress' date?"

Zak shook his head, " _I officially fear for your date._ "

Tùzǐ couldn't help but laugh at that, "Come on help me clean up."

"Me!"

"Yeah you, otherwise you won't get to have more training."

Zak took a piece of cabbage and sighed, "I'll get the broom."

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

In the village, a group of bandit crocs tried to make a run after taking several valuables from different merchants. Fine silks, expensive jewelry, and foods were some of the things stolen by these bandits.

As they reached the edge of the Valley however they were greeted by a wall of fighters, the furious five and dragoon warrior.

"You should give back the things you stole," said Po with a smile.

The bandits gave a step back protecting the valuables they stole.

"Po," warned Tigress watching as the bandits worked on a escape route.

"Guys," yelled Po rushing over to stop the bandits.

The furious five joined him, rushing to take down the crocs.

Crane stayed behind and waiting a few seconds, he raised his wings and blew a powerful gust of wind. The bandits gave a step back by the surprise attack and the furious five dove into the fight.

Po landed a punch on one before landing a spinning attack on another bandit. Tigress jumped over Po landing a kick on another that came to save his friend, but the sudden attack was not foreseen making him tumble back scattering the jewelry he had in hand.

Crane stood in his way and instantly the croc stood up and took his fighting stance. Viper slithered through the fighters and began picking up the scattered jewels, however, her quest was cut short as a long spear landed in front of her making her gasp and turn to another bandit that held a smirk on his lips. Viper spun around and latched her body around the spear and continued ascending until she was face to face with the croc and swiftly moved around his neck and pulled him to the floor.

Mantis quickly made his way around the bigger fighters looking for the last bandit. His eyes worked quickly as Po, and the rest fought against their adversaries, until they landed on what he was looking for. The last bandit was hidden behind some crates and was shaking in fear. Mantis quickly moved towards him, with giant feet stomping all around him until he finally reached the crate and dove in.

The croc bandit shook wildly as his crates moved slightly. He was safe. No one would find him there. He could make his escape after everything was solved and he could…

"Hello," said Mantis crawling on the bandit.

The croc jumped out of his hiding spot hitting his body as he tried to hit the small green warrior. The furious five continued their respective fights. Po dodging and blocking moves provided by the first croc, but just as another hit was sent his way, Po noticed his opening. Acting quickly he punched the bandit on the stomach. While the croc was recovering, Po head butted him and finished his deathly combo by sitting on him.

With a roll Po moved away from that fight and on to the next.

Tigress felt the moment Po hit her back and smirked as he reached for her arm. Readying her body, Po acted quickly spinning her to hit two bandits in a row, leaving Mantis to join their battle. The small green warrior jumped and gave a flying kick to the other bandit being handled by Viper; which in terms sent the croc's spear flying and landing next to Crane. Viper slithered and using her body, she tied the legs of the bandit while Crane dealt the finishing blow.

At last the furious five took their final pose as the crocs all lay unconscious on the floor.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

After the fight, Po and Tigress made their way to Mr. Ping's to have lunch then later –together- they walked back to the Jade Palace but instead of stopping there they kept walking over to the Pool of Sacred Tears.

How they got there, none of them knew, however both were quite pleased with the outcome as the setting sun reflected on the surface of the water making it sparkle with light.

"Wow. Never took time to notice this setting before," said Po walking to the edge of the water and sitting down.

"Indeed, it's quite the sight," said Tigress joining him.

Silence fell on the couple as they starred at the sun move and slowly disappear.

"Hey um…sorry that today's date was interrupted by bandits. I really didn't think about it before but now…"

"It's alright Po," said Tigress turning to the ground and using a paw on the ground. "We're warriors, these things do happen."

Po leaned back, allowing his legs to stretch, and turned to see Tigress.

"You really don't mind," he asked.

Tigress smiled, "It certainly spiced things up."

"And the walk here…"

"Silence is good sometimes," she said. "Actually I'm surprised you held conversation that long. Certainly something I'll thank the mark for."

"Are you still okay with this?"

Tigress turned to Po, "I told you before didn't I."

"Yeah but this seems almost as weird as me being the dragon warrior."

"Master Oogway once said that, they are no accidents. Perhaps, we are more compatible that what I thought."

Po starred at Tigress for a few minutes in complete silence. The tiger master turned back to the lake and watched as the final ray's sunshine hit the surface. The lights formed a swirling pattern that the tiger couldn't help but stare in awe. It was a very pretty show it was indeed quite…

"Beautiful."

Tigress frowned and turned to Po. His eyes grew wide as if realizing his mistake.

"What I meant the water and reflection and it looked all pretty and I couldn't hold myself and…"

Tigress raised a brow but failed to keep her smile in check, "It's okay, Po. I think it was beautiful too."

"Well we should head back," said Po getting up. "Dinner is about to start after all."

Tigress nodded and stood. Together they walked to the Jade Palace enjoying the last remaining moments of their small outing.

"This was fun," said Tigress as they approached the Palace.

Po smiled a little and nodded, "Yeah it was."

"I wonder if we'll get to do it again before the tournament is over."

"Do you want to?"

"I wouldn't mind entirely. As long as I don't have to cook anything."

Po laughed at that as they finally reached the doors to the palace. Tigress started to open the door but Po stopped her midway. Surprised by his actions, Tigress turned to face Po, worry edged in her features but she relaxed as soon as she saw the look in his eyes.

"You too."

Tigress frowned confused but Po didn't need further encouragement.

"You too, are very beautiful."

With that he stepped into the Jade Palace leaving Tigress to process what he said. A small smile appeared on her lips as she turned to the mark in her hand a light golden glow emanating from it.

"Thank you…Po."

 **Hey! what's up! last holiday weekend here T_T sad story no more parties and nor mal life is back on track.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the Tigress date...who's nxt i have no idea. i'm pretty much shuffling them at this point so idk how this'll turn out. votes for dates after all of them have been submitted plz that way i can feel there was an equal chance on each blossom but for now...i hope this was enough to fulfill your Tigress quota xD i know it fulfilled mine and i'd say this was a successful date B)**


	20. Chapter 20

**warning: this piece has not been edited at all...i just wrote it and rolled with it.**

As Po got up the next day, a smile appeared on his lips. He couldn't believe the events of the day before and how good everything turned out. Which in term brought up the question, had Tigress had as much fun as he did. Sure they had that fight with some bandits but that was bound to happen and it was their duty to protect the valley when bandits showed up.

Po froze a little but decided to shrug it off. It was Tigress after all. She understood and even if she was fighting for his hand, in the end she was a warrior first and then everything else. She followed a strict code of pure tradition that she had molded to fit her style. She was…

"Po time for breakfast," yelled Mr. Ping from the first floor.

Suddenly the door to Po's room opened to show Li smiling at the recently woken panda.

"Hi there son," he said walking to the room. "I prepared your bath and brought your clothes with me."

Po smiled and nodded, "I'll do it in a few minutes."

"So you're going out with the leopard girl…what's her name…Song?"

Po nodded, "Yep, and I have to say this would be our…second outing together. On the first one I didn't even knew she was flirting with me until after the event. How sad is that?"

Li chuckled, "It's not like that son. Your mother wasn't good at reading my intentions at first. I remember the first time I told her I liked her and she was all surprised because she didn't know. She thought I was just being friendly towards her. Imagine my face of surprise, so I had to explain it and once I was done she actually said, she liked me back."

Li turned to stare at Po, who was watching his father closely. His eyes shining as he heard the tale of his father.

Li gave him a small smile, "I wish you could have met her little Lotus." He said patting Po's head.

"I wish I had met her too dad," said Po lowering his gaze. "But you know what, I know I'll always have her." he gestured towards his chest. "She'll be in here, always."

Li smiled and placed his paw on top of Po's and smiled, "That's right son." Then he cleared his throat, "But now you have to get ready for your date."

Po nodded and got up to get ready.

Li watched as his son disappeared through the door, his paw still where it had been on his son's chest. Starring at his paw, he gently turned it and placed it on his own chest and smiled. They may not be a family built but they were a family in every sense of the word.

"You'd be proud of him," he whispered to no one.

"Li! Care to give me a hand with the restaurant!" yelled Mr. Ping from the first floor.

Li chuckled, "We may be an odd family now, but it works. I hope you, wherever you are, are still taking care of him."

With that he lowered his paw and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po walked out of his father's shop and adjusted his robe tightly around his waist. It was black with designs made in jade green. His new pants were the same as the robe, but they didn't have any sort of designs to them. The thing that Po could not get was new sandals, thus he used his usual ensemble.

"Po," he heard Song's voice as he tied his sash.

Turning quickly, Po lifted his gaze and his jaw dropped.

Before him was none other than Song but she was dressed in a _Ruqun._ It wasn't as formal as the one she had used on the day of the introductions, but she was still jaw dropping beautiful. Her blouse was light blue in color that made her eyes more noticeable. The wrapped skirt started in a light white color then changed to a subtle purple becoming darker as it reached the ground. On her ear was a single bloom, a peach blossom.

"Is it too much?" she asked reaching Po's side.

The panda shook his head, "It's fine. You look very nice."

Song held her hands in front of her and lowered her gaze, "You really think so."

"Yeah," said Po leaning back and rubbing his paws against his back.

"I think it's a bit much," she told him. "I told the girls but they insisted on me wearing this to our date."

"Song, it's fine. What did you have plan for today?"

Song gave him a small smile and took his paw, "Thought you'd never asked."

Po stared at their paws before he felt his body being pulled out of the Valley.

"Um…Song I don't want to be the one that ruins the mood but, we're leaving the Valley."

Song nodded, "I know.

She said stopping by a pig in a cart, "I'm Song, this is my companion."

The pig turned his gaze from the snow leopard to the giant panda and back. He sighed and pointed at the cart.

Song giggled and hopped right in, followed closely by Po.

The pig rolled his eyes and began pushing the cart with all his might until it finally gave one move forward. To that Po got off the cart and told the pig to let him do it. the pig nodded and gave some of Song's money back before waving the pair off.

Slowly Po pulled the cart through the woods while Song watched.

"That's awfully nice of you Po."

Po turned slightly back and laughed, "Look at me; I'm pretty big for just one little pig. It's the least I can do."

Song leaned back on the cart, "The dragon warrior always willing to help people."

Po chuckled, "True that but…it also means I'm a good person. I usually did stuff like this even before I turned into the dragon warrior."

"They do say the dragon warrior was chosen at birth by the universe."

"I guess, but I like to think I would turn up like this no matter what. I mean even my dark side wasn't entirely all out."

"You have an evil side?"

Po nodded, "It came out when I looked into The Ying Yang Mirror in the vaults of the Jade Palace. Bad Po we called him. He was very mean to everyone around me, even my dad, it was pretty awful; but he didn't instantly destroy the village so that's a plus right?"

"I guess so," said Song sounding a little down. "Why did you look into the mirror?"

Po lowered his face trying to hide a shame that Song couldn't see from her position, "My inner fanboy just saw the mirror and went crazy. I wanted so bad to see it in the end I caused more harm than I thought I could. Luckily now I don't have to worry about it at all."

Song leaned forward a little, "Why? What happened?"

Po shook his head, "Well we had to close it down real tight. Never going to let that part of me out again."

Song looked down to her paws, "Being bad is not entirely a bad thing."

Po slightly froze at her words but didn't say anything.

"Sometimes we just do things for different reasons."

"He's my bad side."

"He's also you. Meaning there's some of him in you."

Po continued to carry the cart in silence for a little while. The wind slightly blowing as the sun carefully but steadily made its way across the sky. Song listened as the wheels of the cart turned and creaked as the giant panda seemed deep in thought.

"You know," said Po interrupting the silence. "You're right. But I never act on those impulses; I guess that might make me a little weak."

"We all have a dark side Po," Song said a smile forming on her lips. "What makes us strong is how we act on them, I worked with Su and I was bad."

"But you aren't like that, those were Su's orders."

"If I hadn't liked it I wouldn't have started don't you think?"

Silence.

"You see Po," she said leaning forward. "However I saw the error of my ways and eventually wanted to leave. I couldn't but still."

"You're saying I'll turn bad?"

Song raised a brow, "You think you can really pull the whole evil guy charade?"

Po laughed, "Probably not."

"Then don't worry about it…but you should worry about taking a left on the next turn."

Po nodded and marched forwards, taking a left as they reached the turn.

"Where are we going anyway?"

Song sat back comfortably, her smile growing wider as Po walked further and they reached the outskirts of the town.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po and Song walked into the village and were greeted immediately by lines of performers. Music resonated through the entire village. Lines of people gathered around and applauded and cheered performers as they did their numbers. Food carts, around every corner were filled with people waiting for their turns or eating food while watching a not so distant performer do its act.

"Woah," said Po watching everything that happened around him. Seriously it was overwhelming but in the end it was just awesome.

"Do you like it?" asked Song watching Po's expression.

The giant panda slowly turned towards her –eyes wide, jaw wide open- and he slowly nodded.

"I was not expecting this but…wow."

Song giggled and took Po's arm, "Come, let's enjoy it."

"Wait what?" said Po as he was yanked forward by Song.

Soon both were lost among the sea of people, music and food.

The day ran by as the couple danced, played and ate. It was both, beautiful and exhausting. To Po it was the most he had ever exercised since his kung fu training and even more draining than lunch and dinner shifts at his father's shop, luckily for him it had also been really fun.

"Today was awesome!" he told Song as they both sat in a table near a food cart.

The night was warm and still loud as they day had been. However performances had changed for something more nightly and in areas a little more mature. But Song and Po had decided to take a food break and settle before venturing into the night activities.

Song let out a small giggle, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Po smiled at her, "I was not expecting this to turn out like this."

"You didn't expect a carnival?"

Po shook his head, "I wasn't really this is…gonna be probably the most hectic date."

Song gave him a small smile, "I guess that's a good thing. I leave an impression."

Po chuckled, "Yeah you did." He said picking his chopsticks and digging for his noodles.

Song took hers and dug on the bowl as well. Neither noticed as their gazes traveled elsewhere, but as they slurped on their noodles they didn't notice they had taken the same one and were slurping on it. Slowly their faces turned to each other, it was then they snapped from what their eyes were watching and noticed the noodle had joined them almost to the point of kissing.

Song instantly snapped the noodle and turned to the other side. Her face flushing with embarrassment as Po stayed frozen in place.

It was then the night sky filled with fireworks. The colors drenched the night sky with life in the middle of the night and their loud noise made the couple's attention turn to the sky in one swift move. The previous awkwardness discarded. Song smiled at the sky while Po leaned back to stare at it better.

It didn't last long however as the fireworks mainly were a small action for children since it was getting quite late. Now with the spectacle and children out of the way the night could openly turn into a more mature atmosphere. And it only took several more minutes before the adults actually began their acts.

"Well it seems like we should head back," said Song standing from her chair.

Po nodded and grabbed the bowl of noodles emptying its contents and returning it to the shop.

Together, they headed towards the cart but before they could get close enough to even see it they were intercepted by a very cheerful goose.

"Hey you there," he told them. "We are having a couple's competition, why don't you join us?"

Po rubbed the back of his neck, "Well you see…"

"Aw don't be shy," said the goose. "Come on, come on, we're already late as it is."

Po and Song were pulled to the central plaza were they met several other couples. The crowd surrounding was positioned in a circle that allowed enough space for the couples.

The goose waddled to the center and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Good night everyone," he spoke. "As you can see all of our couples have gathered, and tonight one of these lucky couples will win a special prize. Let me explain the rules, the band will start playing some music and both couples will dance until only one couple is still standing."

The goose turned and signaled the band to get ready. The couples turned to one another, getting ready for when the music started. Po turned slightly to Song who seemed a little excited over the prospect of the challenge. However he leaned towards her and quickly whispered.

"Song I can't dance."

Song turned to him and frowned, "What but in the hideout…"

Po took her shoulders, "I winged it. I'm not the dancing type."

"Po calm down," intercepted Song. "We can get through this besides, dancing is about having fun."

Po still seemed disrupted but Song gave him a small smile and placed his paws on her hips.

"Just follow my lead."

Po nodded as the music started and they got caught in the rhythm.

Song was slow to introduce Po to something remotely resembling dancing. He was kind of awkward and stiff at first which caused Song to giggle often. Po, determined to get it right, continued onwards without much of a slight hesitation. His feet moved at whatever rhythm he pleased and Song had to constantly keep track on them otherwise she would end up injured.

By the first song several couples had left, probably been up since early morning, but others were just as enthusiastic as when they started. Po and Song continued onwards with their 'dance' determined to not give up just yet. However, as the songs progressed and more couples moved away the exhaustion finally began to settle. Sweat ran down faces and pants left mouths constantly. Not for Po, which was surprising considering his eternal rivalry with stairs, instead he focused on how he was finally being able to reach a rhythm but just as he did the band suddenly stopped playing leaving the remaining couples music-less.

Po turned to Song but she simply smiled at him and gave a spin untangling herself from his arms. Turning to do her dancing as Po struggled somewhat to keep going. Song moved swiftly as always, almost as if she gently floated in the breeze and swayed to a rhythm only she could hear. The crowd around them watched in awe as she did so. Even Po with slight movements ended just starring at her feet, sway of hips, and hand movements. Everything about it was just, hypnotizing.

"And the winners are: Mr. and Mrs. Zhu," mentioned the goose mentioning at the last dancing couple.

Song stopped and began applauding and so did the crowd. The pair of pigs still danced in steady feet, lost in each other's gaze as they danced to some unheard rhythm none of them dared to interrupt. Catching up with the rhythm, the musicans began playing a slow tune to accompany the couple making more couples soon join the winners. Song and Po moved back allowing space for the joining couples.

Po turned to Song and gave her sheepish smile before she gestured him to follow her. The song in the background gave the atmosphere this romantic atmosphere that none of them dared touch, so simply they turned to each other, nodded and headed back towards the cart to head back to the valley.

It wasn't until they were far off that any of them dared to speak, thinking that the slightest whisper would cause some kind of disruption to the happy couples in the village behind them.

"That was fun," spoke Song very low fearing her voice might disrupt the silence of the night.

"Yeah, I had fun," said Po a little louder but still not too loud.

"Glad you enjoyed it," replied Song.

"How could I not," said Po. "There was so much to do."

"The ladies convinced me to bring you here to have our date," Song said. "They said we would enjoy it."

"They were right."

"Thank you Po."

Po frowned, "Um, why?"

Song gave him a smile, "I…tried to recreate our first date…I guess that wasn't such a good idea but I still wanted for us to have an actual date we both enjoyed. Not having to deal with the things we dealt the first time."

Po stopped walking and turned to meet Song's gaze. His entire face was devoid of emotion making Song feel as if she had made a mistake by telling Po her plan. Po walked towards her and Song watched as he carefully leaned in a kissed her cheek. Petrified, Song only waited until Po moved back. His jade eyes seem to gain a spark of happiness to them and the smile on his lips only served to make Song blush. Po blinked once and stared into her eyes, wanting for her to listen to his next words carefully.

"Now it's perfect."

With that he took the cart and continued to the valley. None of them spoke until they reached the Jade Palace and it was just to say good night and head inside.

As soon as she walked into her room, Song dropped on the floor her paw in her heart as it beat frantically against her chest. The other paw reached over and touched her cheek barely. Her face flushed once more at the thought but in the end her train of thought was interrupted as a candle lit up behind her and she turned to meet the gaze of the Ladies of the Shade.

"Tell us everything," they said.

Needless to say, none of them had a long sleep that night but a giant panda walked into his father's shop but stopped short, turning to the Jade Palace for a second. He smiled, lowered his gaze and walked inside.

 ***gasp* you see that. omg right! Po and Song sitting in a tree k-i-s-s...i don't know the rest...seriously i really don't cos well that's not something we sing here.**

 **It's sunday and i have excuses for late update *brings out list* *clears throat* one: i played video games all day yesterday, two: i've been hectic with some deals in rl, mainly that i got a job and they are SO STUCK UP i havent even started and i already hate it (mainly cos the office is COLD and i HATE the COLD) three: i didn't get updates from my followed fanfics T_T yeah i write but i also have a reading list and usually reading those pomps me to write mine, true story, four: um...so not only has the work thing been on my mind but some other things as well i um going though a rough patch with my significant other and between that and me writing romance i have to keep from shedding tears every five minutes. seriously it's...idk how i finished this date...well my dog helps she's a dear. say hi Temari *dog looks at me as if i were crazy* yeah that's why i thought. i hope everything turns for the best and well *swallows* its hard but it must be done right *tries not to cry***

 **Now to not bother you with my personal trauma, two down, four to go right? *mental count* Yeah four more dates that's twenty four chapters...*goes into trance***

 **After that it'll be simple, the next fights all will happen one after the other with little filler and more action. cos that's what we came here to see WOMEN FIGHTING FOR THE HAND OF PO WUAHAHAHAAHA and updates will keep being the same. my job will NOT affect me posting this story but i guess it will affect the others...mainly my other fandom but this one will keep it stable. i'll eat cold food if i have to use my lunch time to write and not keep you guys waiting.**

 **now a reminder: remember votes for the dates once all the dates have been submitted. i got votes for tigress last time and i keep hitting my face on the wall. i look like an unicorn and just to make a point**

 **votos para la ganadora de las citas son DESPUES que todas las citas sean publicadas. no antes.**

 **also you have to be sighed into your account otherwise your vote will NOT count (tambien tienen que dar un review usando su cuenta para que el voto sea valido)**

 **i will keep reminding this until the last date that will be with *blank* seguire recordando esto hasta la ultima cita que sera con *blanco***

 **for now i bid you adieu *kisses all european style* hey we do that here no matter gender so...anyway CIAO**


	21. Chapter 21

**WARNING, WARNING THIS IS NOT A DRILL I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL.**

 **An update?! HI, miss me? i miss me too. wow what a year and something so many things happen and at the same time...nothing has. Thought you'd never see me again? well i'm still here baby! how about that. hope you guys are having a good time. I'm...wow not having a fun time BUT i finally found time to do this and i love it. i'm getting back in the game baby and i have special news...WE HAVE A COVER! YES i love it and i'm so glad about it as well. thank you** **for the awesome cover and the fanfic of this fanfic** **Today is a gift. He's an avid supporter of Tuzi as a contestant and wow. frankly i blush for that, it's a small group but they are out there. *grabs pompoms* Tuzi, Tuzi go,go. He draws AMAZAH link to his dev page (cant spell devi...that page) magister-kekko deviantart com. Go take a look at his stuff.**

Mantel, robe, food, Gāoguì nodded as she stared at the items before her. The peahen was nervous for touching such uncharted territory but this was what she was trained for her whole life, she was confident she would pull it off without much hard work.

Being raised in a traditional home, Gāoguì could easily pass any wife test thrown her way. She had been formally groomed and molded to fill the perfect wife mold. She could sew, clean, cook and manage house work before she could even seat properly. However now she had been accepted as the dragon warrior's wife and things she knew had to be applied further more. She knew she would have to put on even more effort to proof she could handle being a wife specially since it involved handling the dragon warrior and the Jade Palace under her own wing.

Before everything in her life took a turn for the worst, Gāoguì handled lines of possible suitors that came to ask for her hand in marriage. However, after Shen, suitors had become none existent. Gāoguì hadn't really felt anything for the suitors but according to her own family none had seem to fill the role of proper husband that would carry the name, making Gāoguì reach an age where not even her youth could save her as a prospective wife. After the suitors dissipated, her family had tried to pick up the pieces with no success, she was an old unmarried peahen with no future. Then everything changed as soon as the mark appeared on her back. Suddenly she was the big fuss of the house once more, she was pampered and groomed under the money and title they not longer had.

Gāoguì felt overwhelmed by the sudden change, however it needed to be done, as her father had stated, it was her responsibility to save the family by joining the dragon warrior in marriage and proving them she was superior. She had to marry the dragon warrior. She had to come at top. She would have to dig her family out of the hole they had sunken after her cousin's incident...after...Shen…

Gāoguì startled awake as she heard a knock on her door. She raised her wings from her futon only to notice the dents on it made by her metal feather knives. She sighed and turned to the door, gently she opened it and saw Zeng at the other side. The deliver goose bowed and rose quickly.

"Mistress Gāoguì, the package has been delivered," he said.

Gāoguì smiled and bowed, "Thank you master Zeng."

Zeng bowed and began waddling away. Gāoguì slid her door closed and turned back to her basket and belongings. She reached out for them noticing the metal knives coming out of her wings. She turned her wing and began to pull them out but sighed, picked her things and walked out towards the town.

ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ ʕ´• ᴥ •`ʔ

Po waited in front of his father's noddle shop in the most exquisite piece of clothing he's ever owned. This morning Zeng -the messenger from the Jade Palace- had arrived with a parcel containing the robe. It was a red robe with black dragon designs across it. Several golden accents across it made the dragons pop as the sun hit them in just the right angle they would show off the complex embroidery of their bodies. Po swallowed hard then held it half way, afraid that any action he took would rip the fabric. He tried to scratch him back side before he remembered he was wearing the matching black pants of the robe. They were the simplest thing of the entire ensemble but still looked and felt like a little too much, for Po at least. Not like he didn't like the entire attire but it was a little too much for just a normal outing.

"Dragon warrior," he heard someone mention. He turned and his eyes grew wide at the peahen.

She had a similar ensemble but with inverted colors. The designs running along the edges were golden with black accents lotus blooms instead of dragons. Po jaw dropped. How long had she worked on both pieces?

"Have you been waiting long?" asked Gāoguì.

Po shook his head slowly as the peahen's eyes grew concerned, "Dragon warrior, are you well?"

Po blinked and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, yes. Yes! I'm ok. I just...ahem...didn't suspect we'd dress up this well."

Gāoguì looked down embarrassed, "If the warrior wishes we could revert to any other attire."

Po raised his paws quickly, "No, that's not what I meant. I mean...what do you have there?" He finished pointing at the basket on her wings.

Gāoguì looked startled, "Well I believed master Po would be pleased if I brought snacks for the day."

Po perked at this before looking down, "We're going to do how many things today?"

Gāoguì blinked, "I was expecting to get to know more from the dragon warrior's life?"

Po perked up at this, "You want to listen to my tales?"

Gāoguì smile grew wider, "But of course."

And that was how their date started, Po and Gāoguì walked through different areas of the valley while Po retold his tales of awesomeness while she listened attentively and made proper questions, smiled and seemed genuinely interested in everything he had to say. However as the day drove on Po noticed she was not exactly interested in talking about herself. He had asked but always encountered the subject changed back to him in one way of the other. It was a little bit...frustrating. The point of knowing the blossoms wasn't to brag about his heroics, it was about forming a connection with the ladies and so far...nothing.

By lunch they had both arrived back to the Jade Palace and Po had come up with a brilliant plan. He had suggested they both have lunch in the courtyard under the shade of the trees he had seen her pass so much time before.

"Should I accompany the dragon warrior on his kitchen duties?" she had asked but Po had declined in favor on working on his own.

When he came back, Gāoguì had settled well under the trees. She had prepared the area and was watching as the leaves swayed with the wind. Po approached with caution and settled everything.

"Comfortable?"

Gāoguì blinked quickly and turned to him with a smile, "I am, dragon warrior."

Po placed a plate in front of the peahen and one in front of him. Both got ready and began to eat their lunch slowly while the afternoon moved forward. Po tried to ignite a sort of conversation from Gāoguì to no avail. It was like she was afraid of speaking of herself. He sighed, which got her attention.

"Is everything well dragon warrior?"

Po turned to her and with a serene expression he spoke his mind, "Are you afraid of speaking your mind?"

Gāoguì was taken back by this statement, "Pardon?"

Po lowered his half eaten bowl of noddles and turned to face her, "As much as I like talking about my amazing feats of awesomeness. I'd like to know more about you. I always see you here sitting...lost in thought..."

"Do not worry about that my dragon warrior, however I do not wish to be an inconvenience."

Po laughed, "If any one is an inconvenience in the Jade Palace is me, and I'm here aren't I. I just thought it might have something with the whole...Shen being your cousin. Let me tell you I tried to evade the subject for the longest time but I think it's about time I told you that it's fine and no one blames you for the things he did. If anything, I would have to apologize for what I did to him. I tried to help I did but..."

Gāoguì clenched her wings but she interrupted Po, a first for the panda, this startled Po a little but kinda made him happy that she was finally opening up to him.

"You have nothing to apologize for...It was his fault! He did that to himself! To us! He didn't think about anything! He was a selfish and brute of a ruler and he...it's all his fault!"

Po blinked in surprise at her outburst. He was expecting something just not this much. However as she had her outburst she had stood and the light had caught on her metal feathers. Po's attention fell on them in an instant but now it wasn't the time for those.

"What do you mean it was his fault?"

Gāoguì's eyes grew wide and she took a step back frightened, "I'm sorry."

Po quickly stood and grabbed her wing before she could sprint away, "It's ok. I wanted you to express yourself. I didn't expect it to blow up like that but..."

"It's his fault I'm here...I..I...I hate him."

Po blinked and gently pulled her close to sit next to him as she spoke her mind, "It was always, Gāoguì proper diction, Gāoguì be more polite, Gāoguì think ahead. I was pushed to be the perfect template of what a wife should. I was raised to be the perfect daughter and nothing more. Picture you only being able to do these things and suddenly your crazed up cousin decides to take over China? I went form most desirable wife to the crazy cousin of the guy that tried to rule China."

She sighed and hid her face with her wings, "I went from family jewel to family stuck up. This mark...it's what kept me from being thrown to the gutter by my own family."

Po turned from Gāoguì to the courtyard before him. He was lost in thought as he spoke his next words, "Well...that's something."

Gāoguì turned to him, a curious expression in her face.

"Perhaps you're here for more than just becoming my wife."

Gāoguì still looked puzzled.

"I mean, hear me out, I know it sounds mad but...the son of a noddle maker becoming the dragon warrior can happen to anyone. Even to you. Perhaps you can find something else you like...something that can give you further purpose than just being my wife."

Gāoguì looked at Po as if he had lost his mind, "Isn't the purpose of this tournament to find you a mate?"

Po rolled his eyes, "But you forget I'm the dragon warrior. I also help people, and I want to help you Gāo."

"Gāo?"

"Yes! That's what we gonna do, we gonna help you fit in. That way you can be in the tournament for more than just wanting to be my wife to restore your family's missing honor."

"I never said that."

Po shook his head, "You're the only cautious, try hard blossom of them all."

Gāoguì blushed and allowed Po to pick her up.

"Please Gāo. I don't want to meet the you made for this. I wanna meet the real you."

Gāoguì watched Po's jade eyes for a long while. The words and meaning behind each word easily written on them. She allowed herself to smile a little and nod.

"Whatever you wish dragon warrior."

Po fist bump in triumph, "Yes! This is gonna be awesome."

He quickly picked up the pace and started towards the village with Gāoguì in tow, both a fit of giggles and laughter.

"By the way," he said as they climbed down the stairs. "It's Po."

Gāoguì smiled, "Po."

The quest took longer than expected, to no one's surprise. They tried everything in the village but to no avail. Gāoguì was simply not into many of the things. They tried different things with no results for either Gāoguì or Po. Po wanted Gāoguì to click on something just like he did with kung fu but Gāoguì was just happy to follow anything that she could do on her own. Not to mention that it gave them something to enjoy for the day and she even got to know further the extent of the dragon's warrior affection and devotion to not only kung fu but also to his people.

It was late afternoon that Po and Gāoguì walked into Ping's noodle shop exhausted from the day's journey. Ping watched them from afar as Po watched the scroll on his paws in frustration. Gāoguì kept a close eye on him and gave him a small smile.

"It's ok Po. We tried our best. I guess when you get something so etched in your mind, you can't simply walk away from it."

Po sighed and turned to Gāoguì, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you further."

Gāoguì gave him a small smile, "Hey we can't say we didn't try."

Po slumped on the table, "Well I'm the dragon warrior and when someone needs me I help them."

Gāoguì giggled, "Not entirely true. You did help me, I mean at least now we can talk normally. One step at the time."

Po perked up, "You're right. Perhaps a different tactic is in order?"

Gāoguì rolled her eyes, "Po."

"Alright, alright," said Po rising his arms in surrender. "Geez you make a point."

"I still had fun today Po. Thank you." said Gāoguì leaning to try and reach the panda's paw.

Po gave in and leaned in, his paw making contact with the metal feathers on her wing. Po watched them for a moment as his father brought in a bowl of rice for both of them.

"Sides are coming right up," he said waddling back.

"Thank you Mr. Ping," said Gāoguì.

Mr. Ping nodded and continued on his way to bring back the rest of the meal, however as he did that a noise came from the outside. Gāoguì and Po turned to it and saw a crowd gathering to where the noise was coming from.

Po's eyes grew wide as realization dawned on him.

"Song!" he exclaimed. "She and the ladies of the shade come every night to entertain the people of the valley."

"I know," said Gāoguì. "I've seen them train constantly."

Po thought for a second, "Oh right."

Gāoguì nodded as Po perked up, "Wanna go see em?"

Gāoguì blinked in surprise, "Well… what about the food?"

"We can get something later, let's go."

"Hey son where are you going?" asked Li as Po and Gāoguì rushed out of the restaurant.

"Hey dad no time gotta go see Song we'll come by later for the food." he said disappearing through the crowd.

"Where's Po going?" asked Ping as he watched Po go.

"They are going to see Song?" replied Li.

Ping turned to the food and sighed, "That boy."

"At least he's having fun," chuckled Li.

Po and Gāoguì made their way through the crowd all the way to where the ladies of the shade were. They made it just in time as the ladies had just started their routine. Po and Gāoguì remained in place as the ladies danced and twirled in a similar fashion to when they came to the village. It was as hypnotizing as the first time every time you saw them dance, at least Gāoguì thought so. She was so captivated by performance she didn't notice the eyes of Po drift towards her. He gave a small mischievous smile and turned to the ladies. He knew he stood up too much to not be noticed. So when Song caught his eyes he gestured at Gāoguì and Song understood.

With ease the dance continued however as the ladies moved Gāoguì frowned never seeing that part of their routine before. They seem to have an air of laughter to it but it went unnoticed by the peahen until it was too late. Suddenly an umbrella was in her wing and was in the middle of the ladies of the shade. She panicked but saw Po in the crowd starring back at her. His eyes spoke a million words and she understood all of them.

Taking a deep breath Gāoguì let herself go. She knew the dance she could pull it off, at least she hoped so. She knew the dance but she hadn't practiced it so she might screw up at times but as the dance continued, Gāoguì felt truly free and content. Her movements tho awkward always landed gracefully and right. It was as if she was made for this, her one true calling.

"You knew about this?" asked Song as she watched Gāoguì dancing around the ladies of the shade.

"Not really," replied Po. "But I have seen her watching you guys dance before, it was about time she let herself loose."

Song nodded and turned back to her ladies. She saw Gāoguì in the middle looking like she belonged. She looked great, if only she wasn't so stubborn she could find a place among the ladies and moved even further in her own life.

The crowd watched in awe as the peahen led the ladies into the dance. Song noticed, Po noticed, the ladies noticed, everyone noticed except for the peahen who kept dancing to her hearts content without a worry in the world until the dance came to an end and the crowd went wild.

"That was amazing!" mentioned the peahen as the dragon warrior and her walked back to the Jade Palace. "It was indeed as fun and wonderful as I ever imagined. I have to thank Song when I see her...and I guess...thank you too Po."

"Me? Why me?" said Po.

Gāoguì shoved the panda a little, "You know what I mean."

Po chuckled a little, "Yeah, I do. I wanted to just...give you a moment."

Gāoguì blushed a little and climbed the last flight of stairs with ease, "Well it's getting late. I should be heading back. I already pushed enough boundaries today."

Po however was not done, "Gāoguì."

She turned to the panda and waited with a curious stare. Po walked up to her and stretched his paw in her direction. She easily held her wing towards him. He looked curiously at her feathers but smiled and let them go.

"Good night," he said in a soft voice.

Gāoguì continued to stare into his jade eyes, Po noticed as his mark began to glow but he was certain she wasn't aware of it. However as she reached her back and he saw the orange glow from under her robes he knew she was aware of what was happening.

"Good night...Po."

She then turned and went inside the Jade Palace.

Unaware, both of them, of a figure that watched them from the valley. Her glowing paw began showing traces of red on it, she didn't want to do this but if that's what it took to get to the next step then, so be it.


End file.
